r 


/ 


YLUui- 

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P-A 


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* 


A  VISIT 


TO 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


IN 


BY 


JOSEPH  STURGE. 


u  ?Tis  liberty  alone  that  gives  the  flower 
Of  fleeting  life  its  lustre  and  perfume  5 
And  we  are  weeds  without  it.  All  constraint, 
Except  what  wisdom  lays  on  evil  men, 

Is  evil  5  hurts  the  faculties,  impedes 
Their  progress  in  the  road  of  science  5  blinds 
The  eyesight  of  discovery ;  and  begets, 

In  those  that  suffer  it,  a  sordid  mind.” 


CoWPER. 


BOSTON: 

DEXTER  S.  KING,  NO.  1  CORNHILL. 

1842. 


mmtmm 

lt>5 


D.  H.  Ela;s  Power  Press. 


boston  college  library 

CHESTNUT  HILL,  MA  021 67 


[ 

m  2  ”90 


PREFACE 


TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


Within  a  few  years  past,  several  of  our  visitors  from 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  have  published  their  views 
of  our  country  and  her  institutions.  Basil  Hall,  Hamil¬ 
ton  and  others,  in  their  attempts  to  describe  the  working 
of  the  democratic  principle  in  the  United  States,  have 
been  unfavorably  influenced  by  their  opposite  political 
predilections.  On  the  other  hand,  Miss  Martineau,  who 
has  strong  republican  sympathies,  has  not,  at  all  times, 
been  sufficiently  careful  and  discriminating  in  the  facts 
and  details  of  her  spirited  and  agreeable  narrative. 

The  volume  of  Mr.  Sturge,  herewith  presented,  is 
unlike  any  of  its  predecessors.  Its  author  makes  no 
literary  pretensions.  His  style,  like  his  garb,  is  of  the 
plainest  kind  ;  shorn  of  every  thing  like  ornament,  it  has 
yet  a  truthful,  earnest  simplicity,  as  rare  as  it  is  beautiful. 
The  reader  will  look  in  vain  for  those  glowing  descrip¬ 
tions  of  American  scenery,  and  graphic  delineations  of  the 
peculiarities  of  the  American  character  with  which  other 
travellers  have  endeavored  to  enliven  and  diversify  their 
journals.  Coming  among  us  on  an  errand  of  peace 
and  good  will  —  with  a  heart  oppressed  and  burdened  by 
the  woes  of  suffering  humanity' — he  had  no  leisure  for 
curious  observations  of  men  and  manners,  nor  even  for 


IV 


PREFACE. 


the  gratification  of  a  simple  and  unperverted  taste  for  the 
beautiful  in  outward  nature.  His  errand  led  him  to  the 
slave-jail  of  the  negro-trafficker  —  the  abodes  of  the 
despised  and  persecuted  colored  man  —  the  close  walls  of 
prisons.  His  narrative,  like  his  own  character,  is  calm, 
clear,  simple;  its  single  and  manifest  aim,  to  do  good . 

Although  this  volume  is  mainly  devoted  to  the  subject 
of  emancipation,  and  to  his  intercourse  with  the  religious 
Society  of  which  he  is  a  member,  yet  the  friends  of  peace, 
of  legal  reform,  and  of  republican  institutions,  will  derive 
gratification  from  its  perusal.  The  liberal  spirit  of  Chris¬ 
tian  philanthropy  breathes  through  it.  The  author’s  deep 
and  settled  detestation  of  our  slavery,  and  of  the  hypoc¬ 
risy  which  sustains  and  justifies  it,  does  not  render  him 
blind  to  the  beauty  of  the  republican  principle  of  popular 
control,  nor  repress  in  any  degree  his  pleasure  in  record¬ 
ing  its  beneficent  practical  fruits  in  the  free  States. 

The  labors  of  Mr.  Sturge  in  the  cause  of  emancipa¬ 
tion  have  given  him  the  appellation  of  the  “  Howard  of 
our  days.”  The  author  of  the  popular  “  History  of 
Slavery,”  page  600,  thus  notices  his  arduous  personal 
investigations  of  the  state  of  things  in  the  West  India 
Islands,  under  the  apprenticeship  system.  “  The  idea 
originated  with  Joseph  Sturge,  of  Birmingham,  a  member 
of  that  religious  body,  the  Friends,  who  have  ever  stood 
pre-eminent  in  noiseless  but  indefatigable  exertions  in  the 
cause  of  the  negro  ;  and  who  seem  to  possess  a  more 
thorough  practical  understanding  than  is  generally  pos¬ 
sessed  by  statesmen  and  politicians,  of  the  axiom  that  the 
shortest  communication  between  two  given  points,  is  a 
straight  line.  While  others  were  speculating,  and  hoping 


PREFACE. 


V 


that  the  worst  reports  from  the  West  Indies  might  not  be 
true,  and  that  the  evils  would  work  their  own  cure,  this 
generous  and  heroic  philanthropist,  resolved  to  go  himself 
and  ascertain  the  facts  and  the  remedy  required.”  On 
his  return,  Mr.  Sturge,  with  his  companion,  Thomas 
Harvey,  published  a  full  account  of  their  investigations 
into  the  working  of  the  apprenticeship  system ;  and  his 
testimony  before  the  Parliamentary  Committee,  occupied 
seven  days.  His  disclosures  sealed  the  fate  of  the 
apprenticeship  system.  Such  a  demonstration  of  popular 
sentiment  was  called  forth  against  it,  that  the  Colonies, 
one  after  another,  felt  themselves  under  the  necessity  of 
abandoning  it  for  unconditional  emancipation.  It  was 
a  remark  of  Brougham,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  that  the 
abolition  of  the  apprenticeship  was  the  work  of  one  man, 
and  that  man  was  Joseph  Sturge. 

Mr.  Sturge’s  benevolent  labors  have  not  been  con¬ 
fined  to  the  abolition  of  slavery.  He  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Anti-corn  Law  League.  He  is  an  active 
advocate  of  the  cause  of  universal  peace.  He  has  given 
all  his  influence  to  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  and  labor¬ 
ing  classes  of  his  own  countrymen :  and  his  name  is  at 
this  moment,  the  rallying-word  of  millions,  as  the  author 
and  patron  of  the  “  Suffrage  Declaration,”  which  is  now 
in  circulation  in  all  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom,  pledg¬ 
ing  its  signers  to  the  great  principle  of  universal  suffrage 
—  a  full,  fair  and  free  representation  of  the  people.  It 
was  reserved  for  the  untitled  Quaker  of  Birmingham  to 
take  the  lead  in  the  great  and  good  work  of  uniting,  for 
the  first  time,  the  middle  and  the  working  classes  of  his 
countrymen,  and  in  so  doing,  to  infuse  hope  and  newness 

1  * 


VI 


PREFACE. 


of  life  into  the  dark  dwellings  of  the  English  peasant  and 
artisan.  The  Editor  of  the  London  Non-Conformist, 
speaking  of  this  movement  of  Mr.  Sturge,  says :  “  The 
Declaration  is  put  forth  by  a  man,  who,  perhaps,  in  a 
higher  degree  than  any  other  individual,  has  the  confidence 
of  both  the  middle  class  and  the  working  men.  The 
former  can  trust  to  his  prudence;  the  latter  have  faith  in 
his  sincerity.” 

Such  is  the  man,  who,  prompted  by  his  untiring 
benevolence,  visited  our  shores  during  the  past  year. 
This  volume  is  the  brief  record  of  his  visit,  and  of  the 
impressions  produced  upon  his  mind  by  our  conflicting 
interests  and  institutions.  It  is  now  republished,  in  the 
belief  that  the  opinions  of  its  author  will  be  received  with 
candor  and  respect  by  all  classes  of  our  citizens,  and  that 
they  are  calculated  to  make  a  permanent  and  salutary 
impression,  in  favor  of  the  great  cause  of  universal  free¬ 
dom. 

Boston,  May,  1842. 


PREFACE 


TO  THE  ENGLISH  EDITION. 


In  visiting  the  United  States,  the  objects  which  pre¬ 
ferred  the  chief  claim  to  my  attention  were  the  universal 
abolition  of  slavery ,  and  the  promotion  of  permanent 
international  peace.  Deeply  impressed  with  the  convic¬ 
tion  that  the  advancement  of  these  is  intimately  connected 
with  the  progress  of  right  views  among  professing  Chris¬ 
tians  in  that  country,  it  was  my  desire  not  only  to  inform 
myself  of  the  actual  state  of  feeling  and  opinion  among 
this  important  class,  but  if  possible,  to  contribute  my  mite 
of  encouragement  and  aid  to  those  who  are  bearing  the 
burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  in  an  arduous  contest,  on 
whose  issue  the  alternative  of  a  vast  amount  of  human 
happiness  or  misery  depends.  This  general  outline  of  my 
motives  included  several  specific,  practical  objects,  which 
will  be  found  detailed  in  the  ensuing  pages. 

For  obvious  reasons,  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
United  States  is  the  most  prominent  topic  in  my  narra¬ 
tive  ;  but  I  have  freely  interspersed  observations  on  other 
subjects  of  interest  and  importance,  as  they  came  under 
consideration.  Short  notices  are  introduced  of  some  of 
the  prominent  abolitionists  of  America ;  and,  though  sen¬ 
sible  how  imperfectly  I  have  done  justice  to  exertions, 
which,  either  in  degree  or  kind,  have  scarcely  a  parallel 
in  the  annals  of  self-denying  benevolence,  I  fear  I  shall 
occasionally  have  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  individuals 


Vlll 


PREFACE. 


referred  to,  by  what  they  may  deem  undeserved  or 
unseasonable  praise ;  yet  I  trust  they  will  pardon  the  act 
for  the  sake  of  the  motive,  which  is  to  introduce  the 
English  anti-slavery  reader  to  a  better  acquaintance  with 
his  fellow  laborers  in  the  United  States.  My  short  stay, 
and  the  limited  extent  of  my  visit,  prevented  my  becoming 
acquainted  with  many  who  are  equally  deserving  of 
notice. 

Less  than  twelve  months  have  elapsed  since  I  em¬ 
barked  on  this  “visit;”  and  though,  with  the  help  of 
steam  by  sea  and  land,  an  extensive  journey  may  now  be 
performed  in  a  comparatively  short  time,  yet,  during  this 
brief  interval,  my  own  engagements  would  have  prevented 
my  placing  the  following  narrative  so  early  before  the 
public  without  assistance.  It  is  right  to  state  that  a  large 
portion  of  the  work  has  been  prepared  for  the  press  from 
a  rough  transcript  of  my  journal,  from  my  correspondence, 
and  other  documents,  by  the  friend  who  accompanied  me 
on  a  former  journey  to  the  West  Indies,  and  who  then 
compiled  the  account  of  our  joint  labors. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  the  narrative  portion  of  this 
publication  has  been  sent  to  America,  to  different  individ¬ 
uals  who  were  concerned  in,  or  present  at  the  transactions 
related,  and  has  been  returned  to  me  with  their  verifica¬ 
tion  of  the  facts ;  so  that  the  reader  has  the  strongest 
guaranty  for  their  accuracy.  The  inferences  and  com¬ 
ments  I  am  solely  responsible  for,  and  I  leave  them  to 
rest  on  their  own  merits. 

In  undertaking  this  journey,  I  was  careful  not  to 
shackle  my  individual  liberty  by  appearing  as  the  repre¬ 
sentative  of  any  society,  whether  religious  or  benevolent ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  none  of  those  friends,  who  kindly 


PREFACE. 


IX 


furnished  me  with  letters  of  introduction,  are  in  any  way 
responsible  for  my  proceedings  in  the  United  States,  or 
for  any  thing  which  this  volume  contains. 

In  conclusion,  —  should  these  pages  come  under  the 
notice  of  any,  who,  though  well  wishers  to  their  species, 
are  not  yet  identified  with  anti-slavery  effort,  I  would  en¬ 
treat  such  to  “come  over  and  help  us.”  If  they  are  am¬ 
bitious  of  a  large  and  quick  return  for  their  outlay  of  money, 
of  time,  of  labor,  —  for  their  painful  sympathies  and  self- 
denying  prayers,  —  where  will  they  find  a  cause  where 
help  is  more  needed,  or  where  it  would  be  rewarded  more 
surely  and  abundantly  ?  Let  them  reflect  on  what  has 
been  effected,  within  a  few  short  years,  in  the  British  West 
Indies,  so  recently  numbered  among  “  the  dark  places  of 
the  earth,  full  of  the  habitations  of  cruelty,”  —  but  now 
scenes  of  light,  gladness,  and  prosperity,  temporal  and 
spiritual.  To  show  what  remains  to  be  accomplished 
for  the  universal  abolition  of  slavery  —  a  field  in  which 
the  laborers  are  few  indeed,  in  proportion  to  its  extent  — 
I  may  be  allowed  to  quote  the  following  comprehensive 
statement,  from  the  preface  to  one  of  the  most  important 
volumes  that  ever  issued  from  the  press  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  :* 

“  The  extent  of  these  giant  evils  may  be  gathered 
from  a  brief  statement  of  facts.  In  the  United  States  of 
America,  the  slave  population  is  estimated  to  be  2,750,000; 
in  Brazil,  2,500,000;  in  the  Spanish  Colonies,  600,000; 
in  the  French  Colonies,  265,000;  in  the  Dutch  Colonies, 
70,000;  in  the  Danish  and  Swedish  Colonies,  30,000; 
and  in  Texas,  25,000;  besides  those  held  in  bondage  by 
Great  Britain,  in  the  East  Indies,  and  the  British  Settle¬ 
ments  of  Ceylon,  Malacca,  and  Penang;  and  by  France, 

*  “Proceedings  of  the  London  Anti-Slavery  Convention.” 


X 


PREFACE. 


Holland,  and  Portugal,  in  various  parts  of  Asia  and 
Africa ;  amounting  in  all  to  several  millions  more ;  and 
exclusive  also  of  those  held  in  bondage  by  the  native 
powers  of  the  East,  and  other  parts  of  the  world,  of 
whose  number  it  is  impossible  to  form  a  correct  estimate. 

“To  supply  the  slave-markets  of  the  Western  world, 
120,000  native  Africans  are,  on  the  most  moderate  calcu¬ 
lation,  annually  required  ;  whilst  the  slave-markets  of  the 
East  require  50,000  more.  In  procuring  these  victims  of 
a  guilty  traffic,  to  be  devoted  to  the  rigors  of  perpetual 
slavery,  it  is  computed  that  280,000  perish  in  addition, 
and  under  circumstances  the  most  revolting  and  afflicting. 

“But  this  is  not  all.  In  the  Southern  section  of  the 
United  States,  and  in  British  India,  a  vast  internal  slave- 
trade  is  carried  on,  second  only  in  horror  and  extent  to 
that  which  has  so  long  desolated  and  degraded  Africa. 

“  These  facts  exhibit,  also,  the  magnitude  of  the 
responsibility  which  devolves  upon  abolitionists ;  in  view 
of  it  they  may  well  be  allowed  to  disclaim,  as  they  do,  all 
sectarian  motive,  all  party  feeling:  ‘Glory  to  God  in  the 
highest,  on  earth  peace,  good  will  to  man,’  is  their  aim : 
consistently  with  the  blessed  character  of  this  gospel 
anthem,  they  recognize  no  means  as  allowable  for  them, 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  holy  enterprise,  than  those 
which  are  of  a  moral,  religious,  and  pacific  nature ;  in  the 
diligent  use  of  these  means,  and  trusting  in  God,  they 
cherish  the  hope  that,  under  His  blessing,  they  may  be 
permitted  to  accomplish  the  great  work  to  which  they  are 
devoted;  and  thus  be  made  instrumental  in  advancing  the 
sacred  cause  of  freedom,  and  its  attendant  blessings,  civil¬ 
ization  and  religion,  throughout  the  earth.” 

J.  S. 

Edgbaston,  near  Birmingham,  Second  Month,  1st,  1842. 


A  VISIT,  &c. 


I  embarked  at  Portsmouth,  on  board  the  British 
Queen  steam  packet,  commanded  by  Captain  Franklin, 
on  the  10th  of  the  3d  Month,  (March,)  1841.  During 
the  first  two  or  three  days,  the  weather  was  unusually  fine 
for  the  season  of  the  year,  and  gave  us  the  prospect  of  a 
quick  and  prosperous  voyage.  The  passengers,  about 
seventy  in  number,  were  of  various  nations,  including 
English,  French,  German  and  American. 

The  very  objectionable  custom  of  supplying  the  pas¬ 
sengers  with  intoxicating  liquors  without  limit  and  without 
any  additional  charge,  thus  compelling  the  temperate  or 
abstinent  passenger  to  contribute  to  the  expenses  of  the 
intemperate,  was  done  away.  Each  individual  paid  for 
the  wine  and  spirits  he  called  for,  a  circumstance  which 
greatly  promoted  sobriety  in  the  ship ;  but  I  am  sorry  to 
say  three  or  four,  and  these  my  own  countrymen,  were 
not  un frequently  in  a  state  of  intoxication.  On  one 
occasion,  after  dinner,  one  of  these  addressed  an  intelli¬ 
gent  black  steward,  who  was  waiting,  by  the  contemptu¬ 
ous  designation  of  “  blackey ;”  the  man  replied  to  him  in 
this  manner:  —  “My  name  is  Robert;  when  you  want 
any  thing  from  me  please  to  address  me  by  my  name ; 
there  is  no  gentleman  on  board  who  would  have  addressed 
me  as  you  have  done;  we  are  all  the  same  flesh  and 


12 


PASSAGE  ACROSS  THE  ATLANTIC. 


blood;  I  did  not  make  myself;  God  made  me.”  This 
severe  and  public  rebuke  commended  itself  to  every  man’s 
conscience,  and  my  countryman  obtained  no  sympathy 
even  from  the  most  prejudiced  slaveholder  on  board. 
Several  of  my  fellow  passengers  stood  in  this  relation ;  and 
I  found  I  could  freely  converse  with  a  native  American 
slaveholder  not  only  with  less  risk  of  giving  offence,  but 
that  he  was  more  ready  to  admit  the  inherent  evils  of 
slavery  than  the  Europeans  who  had  become  inured  to 
the  system  by  residence  in  the  Southern  States  of  America, 
or  than  the  American  merchants  residing  in  the  Northern 
cities,  whose  participation  in  the  commerce  of  the  Slave 
States  had  imbued  them  with  pro-slavery  views  and  feel¬ 
ings.  One  of  them,  a  French  merchant  of  New  Orleans, 
went  so  far  as  to  assure  me,  that  in  his  opinion  it  would 
be  as  reasonable  to  class  the  negroes  with  monkeys,  as  to 
place  them  on  an  equality  with  the  whites. 

On  the  nights  of  the  14th  and  15th  the  Aurora  Bore¬ 
alis  was  very  beautiful  and  vivid,  which  is  said  to  be,  in 
these  latitudes,  an  indication  of  stormy  weather.  Accord¬ 
ingly  on  the  16th  the  weather  became  less  favorable,  with 
an  increased  swell  in  the  sea,  wind  more  ahead,  and  occa¬ 
sional  squalls.  On  the  night  of  the  18th  we  encountered 
one  of  the  most  awful  hurricanes  ever  witnessed  by  the 
oldest  sailor  on  board  ;  and  from  this  date  to  the  24th  inst. 
we  experienced  a  succession  of  storms  of  indescribable 
violence  and  severity,  which  at  some  intervals  caused 
great  and  1  believe  very  just  alarm  for  the  safety  of  the 
ship.  The  President  steamer,  coming  in  the  opposite 
direction,  is  known  to  have  encountered  the  same  weather, 
and  was  doubtless  lost,  not  having  since  been  heard  of. 
Our  escape,  under  Divine  Providence,  must  be  attributed 


NEW  YORK. 


13 


to  the  great  strength  of  the  vessel,  which  had  been  thor¬ 
oughly  repaired  since  her  last  voyage,  and  to  the  skill  and 
indefatigable  attention  of  the  Captain.  On  the  25th  the 
wind  abated,  and  the  greater  number  of  the  floats  or  pro¬ 
pelling  boards  of  the  paddle  wheels  having  been  carried 
away,  and  our  stock  of  coals  very  much  reduced,  the 
the  Captain  decided  to  make  for  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia, 
where  we  arrived  on  the  evening  of  the  30th.  After  a 
stay  of  twenty-four  hours,  for  repairs  and  supplies,  we 
again  left  for  New.  York,  where  we  arrived  safely  on  the 
night  of  4th  Month,  (April,)  3d. 

The  following  day,  being  the  first  of  the  week,  I 
landed  about  the  time  of  the  gathering  of  the  different 
congregations,  and  inquired  my  way  to  the  meeting  of  the 
orthodox  section  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  afterwards 
took  up  my  abode  at  the  Carlton  Hotel.  Here  I  met,  for 
the  first  time,  my  friend  J.  G.  Whittier,  whom  I  had 
been  anxious  to  associate  with  myself  in  my  future  move¬ 
ments,  and  who  kindly  consented  to  be  my  companion  as 
far  as  his  health  would  permit.  The  next  morning,  on 
returning  to  the  vessel  to  get  my  luggage  passed,  a  cus¬ 
tom-house  officer  manifested  his  disapproval  of  my  char¬ 
acter  and  objects  as  an  abolitionist,  by  giving  me  much 
unnecessary  trouble,  and  by  being  the  means  of  my  pay¬ 
ing  duty  on  a  small  machine  for  copying  letters  for  my 
own  private  use,  and  other  articles  which  I  believe  are 
usually  passed  free.  Ordinarily  at  this  port,  the  luggage 
of  respectable  passengers  is  passed  with  little  examination, 
on  an  assurance  that  it  comprises  no  merchandise.  This 
was  almost  the  only  instance  of  discourteous  treatment  I 
met  with  in  the  United  States.  We  remained  in  New 
York  from  the  4th  to  the  10th  of  this  month,  which  time 
2 


14 


NEW  YORK. 


was  occupied  in  visiting  different  friends  of  the  anti-slavery 
cause,  and  in  receiving  calls  at  our  hotel. 

I  had  much  pleasure  and  satisfaction  in  my  intercourse 
here  with  several  individuals  distinguished  in  the  anti¬ 
slavery  cause,  some  of  whom  I  had  met  in  1837,  during  a 
short  visit  to  New  York  on  my  way  from  the  West  Indies. 
Among  these,  ought  particularly  to  be  mentioned  the 
brothers  Arthur  and  Lewis  Tappan.  The  former  was 
elected  president  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society  on 
its  formation,  and  remained  at  its  head  until  the  division 
which  took  place  last  year,  when  he  became  president  of 
the  American  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society.  His 
name  is  not  more  a  byeword  of  reproach,  than  a  watch¬ 
word  of  alarm  throughout  the  slave  states  ;  and  the  slave 
holders  have  repeatedly  set  a  high  price  upon  his  head  by 
advertisement  in  the  public  papers.  In  the  just  estimation 
of  the  pro-slavery  party,  Arthur  Tappan  is  abolition 
personified  ;  and  truly  the  cause  needs  not  to  be  ashamed 
of  its  representative,  for  a  more  deservedly  honored  and 
estimable  character  it  would  be  difficult  to  find.  In 
personal  deportment  he  is  unobtrusive  and  silent ;  his 
sterling  qualities  are  veiled  by  reserve,  and  are  in  them¬ 
selves  such  as  make  the  least  show  —  clearness  and 
judgment,  prudence  and  great  decision.  He  is  the  head 
of  an  extensive  mercantile  establishment,  and  the  hish 

J  O 

estimation  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow  citizens, 
notwithstanding  the  unpopularity  of  his  views  on  slavery, 
is  the  result  of  a  long  and  undeviating  career  of  public 
spirit  and  private  integrity,  and  of  an  uninterrupted  suc¬ 
cession  of  acts  of  benevolence.  During  a  series  of  years 
of  commercial  prosperity,  his  revenues  were  distributed 
with  an  unsparing  hand  through  the  various  channels 


NEW  YORK. 


15 


which  promised  benefit  to  his  fellow  creatures  ;  and  in  this 
respect,  his  gifts,  large  and  frequent  though  the)'-  were, 
were  probably  exceeded  in  usefulness  by  the  influence  of 
his  example  as  a  man  and  a  Christian. 

His  brother  Lewis,  with  the  same  noble  and  disinter¬ 
ested  spirit  in  the  application  of  his  pecuniary  resources, 
possesses  the  rare  faculty  of  incessant  labor;  which,  when 
combined,  as  in  his  case,  with  great  intellectual  and 
physical  capacity,  eminently  qualifies  for  a  leading  position 
in  society.  He  unites  in  a  remarkable  degree,  the  appa¬ 
rently  incompatible  qualities  of  versatility  and  concentra¬ 
tion  ;  and  his  admirable  endowments  have  been  applied  in 
the  service  of  the  helpless  and  the  oppressed  with  corres¬ 
ponding  success.  He  has  been  from  the  beginning  one  of 
the  most  active  members  of  the  central  Anti-Slavery 
Committee  in  New  York,  a  body  that  has  directed  the 
aggressive  operations  against  slavery,  on  a  national  scale, 
with  a  display  of  resources,  and  an  untiring  and  resolute 
vigor,  that  have  attracted  the  admiration  of  all,  wrho, 
sympathizing  in  their  object,  have  had  the  privilege  of 
watching  their  proceedings.  Of  those  w'ho  have  impressed 
the  likeness  of  their  own  character  on  these  proceedings, 
Lewis  Tappan  is  one  of  the  chief ;  and  he  has  shared 
with  his  brother  the  most  virulent  attacks  from  the  pro¬ 
slavery  party.  Some  years  ago  he  had  the  ear  of  a  negro 
sent  to  him  by  post,  in  an  insulting  anonymous  letter. 
During  the  past  year,  though  marked  by  a  severe  domestic 
affliction,  in  addition  to  his  engagements  as  a  merchant,  in 
partnership  with  his  brother  Arthur,  and  his  various 
public  and  private  duties  as  a  man  and  as  a  citizen,  in  the 
performance  of  which  I  believe  he  is  punctual  and 
exemplary,  he  has  edited,  almost  without  assistance,  the 


16 


NEW  YORK. 


American  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Reporter,  and  has 
also  been  one  of  the  most  active  members  of  a  committee 
of  benevolent  individuals  formed  to  watch  over  the 
interest  of  the  Amistad  captives.  Besides  superintending 
the  maintenance,  education,  and  other  interests  of  these 
Africans,  it  was  necessary  to  defend  their  cause  against 
the  whole  power  of  the  United  States’  Government,  to 
raise  funds  for  these  objects,  to  interest  foreign  Govern¬ 
ments  in  their  welfare,  and  more  than  all,  to  keep  them 
constantly  before  the  public,  not  only  for  their  own  sakes, 
but  that  a  portion  of  the  sympathy  and  right  feeling 
which  was  elicited  in  their  favor  might  be  reflected 
towards  the  native  slave  population  of  the  country,  whose 
claim  to  freedom  rests  upon  the  same  ground  of  natural 
and  indefeasible  right.  With  what  success  this  interesting 
cause  has  been  prosecuted  is  well  expressed  in  a  single 
sentence  by  a  valued  transatlantic  correspondent  of  mine, 
who,  writing  at  the  most  critical  period  of  the  contro¬ 
versy,  says: — a  We,  or  rather  Lewis  Tappan,  has  made 
the  whole  nation  look  the  captives  in  the  face.’’ 

Joshua  Leavitt,  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  New 
York  Emancipator,  a  large  weekly  abolition  newspaper, 
and  secretary  of  the  American  and  Foreign  Anti-slavery 
Society,  is  another  remarkable  man,  clear  and  sound  in 
judgment,  and  efficient  in  action.  He  is  justly  regarded 
by  American  abolitionists  as  one  of  their  ablest  supporters. 

La  Roy  Sunderland,  member  of  the  Executive  Com¬ 
mittee,  and  editor  of  “  Zion’s  Watchman,”  a  Methodist, 
religious,  and  anti-slavery  newspaper,  with  his  slight  figure, 
dark  intellectual  face,  and  earnest  manner,  is  pointed  out 
to  the  anti-slavery  visitor  from  the  Old  World  as  the  most 
prominent  advocate  of  emancipation  among  the  Wes- 


XEW  YORK. 


17 


leyans.  His  boldness  and  faithfulness  have  combined 
against  him  the  leading-  influences  of  his  denomination, 
but  notwithstanding  he  has  been  several  times  tried  by 
ecclesiastical  councils,  they  have  always  failed  to  substan¬ 
tiate  the  charges  against  him,,  and  his  vindication  has  been 
complete. 

Theodore  S.  Wright,  member  of  the  committee,  is 
a  colored  presbyterian  preacher  in  this  city — an  amiable 
man,  much  and  deservedly  respected. 

All  the  above  mentioned  individuals,  who  have  from 
an  early  period  been  among  the  most  zealous  and  laborious 
members  of  the  anti-slavery  committee,  found  themselves 
placed  by  the  events  of  last  year  in  the  position  of 
seceders  from  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  though 
their  opinions  had  undergone  no  change.  They  now 
belong  to  the  American  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society, 
or  as  it  is  technically  called  the  “  new  organization,”  a 
distinction  which  will  be  afterwards  explained. 

James  ATCune  Smith,  a  young  colored  physician,  I 
had  known  in  England,  where  he  studied  for  his  profession, 
having  been  shut  out  of  the  colleges  of  his  own  country 
by  the  prejudice  against  his  complexion.  Notwithstanding 
this  prejudice  he  is  now  practising,  I  understand,  with 
success,  and  has  fair  prospects. 

I  had  a  pleasant  interview  with  Isaac  T.  Hopper, 
whom  also  I  had  met  in  1837.  He  belongs  to  the 
American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  or  “  old  organization,” 
and  has  been  a  zealous  and  fearless  abolitionist  for  half  a 
century.  He  has  been  recently  disowned  by  the  “  Hicksite 
Friends  ”  for  his  connection  with  the  newspaper  called  the 
“  National  Anti-Slavery  Standard.” 


18 


BURLINGTON. 


Early  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  we  left  for  Burling¬ 
ton  by  railroad,  where  we  were  most  kindly  received  by 
our  venerable  friends  Stephen  Grellett  and  his  wife. 
On  the  following  day,  we  took  tea  with  John  Cox, 
residing  about  three  miles  from  Burlington,  at  a  place 
called  Oxmead,  where  formerly  that  eminent  minister  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  George  Dill  win,  resided.  J.  C. 
is  now  in  his  eighty-seventh  year,  enjoying  a  green  and 
cheerful  old  age,  and  feeling  all  the  interest  of  his  youth 
in  the  anti-slavery  cause.  It  was  cheering  and  animating 
to  witness  the  serene  spirit  of  this  venerable  man,  and 
deeply  were  we  interested  in  the  reminiscences  of  his 
youth.  He  well  remembered  John  Woolman,  whose 
former  residence,  Mount  Holly,  is  within  a  few  miles  of 
Oxmead,  and  of  whom  he  related  various  particulars 
characteristic  of  the  simplicity,  humanity,  and  great  cir¬ 
cumspection  of  his  life  and  conversation.  When  John 
Woolman  first  brought  the  subject  of  slavery  before  the 
yearly  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Friends  at  Philadelphia, 
at  a  time  when  its  members  were  deeply  implicated  both 
in  slave-holding  and  in  slave-dealing,  he  stood  almost  alone 
in  his  anti-slavery  testimony,  which  he  expressed  in  few 
and  appropriate  words.  Some  severe  remarks  were  made 
by  others  in  reply,  on  this  and  on  successive  similar 
occasion,  when  he  introduced  the  subject,  but  such 
treatment  provoked  no  rejoinder  from  John  Woolman, 
who  would  quietly  resume  his  seat  and  weep  in  silent 
submission. 

He  was  not  deterred  by  this  discouraging  reception 
from  again  and  again  bringing  the  subject  before  the  next 
Yearly  Meeting,  and  finally  his  unwearied  efforts,  always 
prosecuted  in  the  “  meekness  of  wisdom,”  resulted  in  the 


BENEZET.  . 


19 


Society  of  Friends  entirely  wiping  away  the  reproach  of 
this  abomination. 

The  great  qualification  of  John  Woolman  for  plead¬ 
ing  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  was  the  same  which  has 
been  ascribed  with  equal  truth  and  beauty  to  his  contem¬ 
porary  and  co-worker,  Anthony  Benezet :  “  a  peculiar 
capacity  for  being  profoundly  sensible  of  their  wrongs.” 
The  biographer  of  the  latter  has  described  another  occur¬ 
rence  in  the  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meeting  at  a  subsequent t 
stage  of  this  momentous  controversy,  which  may  prove  an 
interesting  counterpart  to  the  foregoing  relation. 

“  On  one  occasion  during  the  annual  convention  of  the 
Society  at  Philadelphia,  when  that  body  was  engaged  on 
the  subject  of  slavery,  as  it  related  to  its  own  members, 
some  of  whom  had  not  wholly  relinquished  the  practice  of 
keeping  negroes  in  bondage,  a  difference  of  sentiment 
arose  as  to  the  course  which  ought  to  be  pursued.  For  a 
moment  it  appeared  doubtful  which  opinion  would  pre¬ 
ponderate.  At  this  critical  juncture  Benezet  left  his 
seat,  which  was  in  an  obscure  part  of  the  house,  and 
presented  himself  weeping  at  an  elevated  door  in  the 
presence  of  the  whole  congregation,  whom  he  thus 
addressed  —  ‘Ethiopia  shall  soon  stretch  out  her  hands 
unto  God.’  He  said  no  more  :  under  the  solemn  impres¬ 
sion  which  succeeded  this  emphatic  quotation,  the  proposed 
measure  received  the  united  sanction  of  the  assembly.”* 

Even  the  passing  observer  is  aware  how  closely  the 
Society  of  Friends  is  identified  with  the  anti-slavery  cause, 
and  if  such  an  one  were  to  make  this  fact  the  subject  of 
historical  investigation,  he  would  probably  find  it  one  of 
considerable  interest. — He  would  learn  that  some  years 

*  Life  of  Anthony  Benezet,  by  Roberts  Vaux. 


20 


WOOLMAN.  - BENEZET. 


before  the  call  of  Thomas  Clarkson  in  his  early 
manhood,  by  a  series  of  distinct  and  remarkable  Provi¬ 
dences,  into  this  field  of  labor,  this  Society  in  America  had 
been  pervaded  by  a  noiseless  agitation  on  the  subject  of 
slavery,  which  resulted  in  the  abandonment  of  the  slave- 
trade,  in  the  liberation  of  their  slaves,  and  in  the  adoption 
of  a  rule  of  discipline  excluding  slaveholders  from  religious 
fellowship ;  so  that  for  many  years  past,  the  sins  in 
question  have  been  not  so  much  as  to  be  named  among 
them,  or  the  possibility  of  their  commission  hinted  at,  by 
any  one  bearing  the  name  and  professing  the  principles  of 
a  “  Friend.”  The  change  described,  was  effected,  not  by 
“  pressure  from  without,”  but  by  the  constraining  influence 
of  the  love  of  Christ.  The  chief  instruments  in  the 
hands  of  Divine  Providence  in  bringing  about  so  remark¬ 
able  a  reformation,  were  John  Woolman  and  Anthony 
Benezet,  of  whom  the  former  was  the  earlier  in  the  field 
and  broke  up  the  fallow  ground,  under  circumstances  of 
the  greatest  discouragement,  of  which  the  instance  above 
related  is  an  example. 

The  life  of  this  ever-memorable  man  was  a  pattern  of 
apostolic  Christianity  —  pure,  patient,  self-denying,  meek. 
Love  was  the  element  he  breathed.  His  heart  not  only 
yearned  towards  the  oppressed  of  the  human  family,  but 
his  compassion  extended  to  the  brute  creation,  under 
whose  sufferings  in  the  service  of  man,  to  use  his  own 
expression,  “  creation  at  this  day  doth  loudly  groan.” 
Though  dependent  on  his  own  labor  for  a  livelihood,  he 
was  careful  in  a  most  exemplary  degree,  “not  to  entangle 
himself  with  affairs  of  this  life,  that  he  might  please  Him 
who  had  called  him  to  be  a  soldier ;”  and  the  reader  of 
his  life  will  find  that  this  unworldly  man  took  similar  pains 


PHILADELPHIA. 


21 


to  avoid  wealth,  which  others  do  to  acquire  it.  Perhaps  I 
may  be  excused  for  dwelling  a  moment  on  this  theme, 
when  I  state  that  one  of  the  latest  public  acts  of  my 
beloved  and  lamented  father-in-law,  James  Cropper,  was 
to  cause  John  Woolman’s  auto-biography  and  writings 
to  be  re-edited,  and  a  large  and  cheap  edition  to  be 
struck  off,  which  has  appeared  since  his  decease.*  This 
work  is  well  known  to  the  Society  of  Friends,  but  should 
any  other  reader  be  induced  by  these  desultory  remarks  to 
peruse  it,  he  will  find  himself  richly  repaid.  In  the  pic¬ 
turesque  simplicity  of  its  style,  refined  literary  taste  has 
found  an  inimitable  charm, f  but  the  spiritually  minded 
reader  will  discover  beauties  of  a  far  higher  order. 

Taking  leave  for  the  present  of  our  venerable  friends 
at  Oxmead  and  Burlington,  we  proceeded  on  the  12th 
to  Philadelphia,  where  we  remained  several  days,  at  the 
Union  Hotel.  During  this  brief  stay,  we  received  visits 
from  a  large  number  of  the  friends  of  the  anti-slavery 
cause,  and  made  some  calls  in  return.  Among  others,  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  James  Forten,  an  aged  and 
opulent  man  of  color,  whose  long  career  has  been  marked 
by  the  display  of  capacity  and  energy  of  no  common  kind. 
The  history  of  his  life  is  interesting  and  instructive,  afford¬ 
ing  a  practical  demonstration  of  the  absurdity,  as  well  as 
injustice,  of  that  prejudice  which  would  stamp  the  mark 
of  intellectual  inferiority  on  his  complexion  and  race. 

I  returned  to  New  York  on  the  15th,  in  company  with 
several  anti-slavery  friends.  One  of  these,  Dr.  Barthol¬ 
omew  Fussell,  resided  on  the  borders  of  the  State  of 

*  A  Journal  of  the  Life,  Gospel  Labors,  and  Christian  Experi¬ 
ence,  &c.  &c.  of  John  Woolman.  Warrington,  Thomas  Hurst. 

t  See  Charles  Lamb’s  Works. 


22 


ELISHA  TYSON. 


Maryland,  and  had  afforded  relief  and  aid  to  many  negroes 
escaping  from  slavery.  He  had  kept  no  account  of  the 
number  thus  assisted  till  last  )ear,  when  there  were  thirty- 
four,  beins  fewer  he  thought  than  the  averap-e  of  several 
years  preceding.  The  same  individual  related  some 
interesting  particulars  of  the  late  Elisha  Tyson,  of  Bal¬ 
timore,  an  abolitionist  of  the  old  school,  who  had  rescued 
many  negroes  from  illegal-  bondage.  Dr.  Fussell  was 
an  eye  witness  of  the  following  occurrence :  A  poor 
woman  had  been  seized  by  the  agents  of  Woolfolk,  the 
notorious  Maryland  slave  dealer,  and  was  carried  along 
the  street  in  which  Elisha  Tyson  lived.  When  they 
arrived  opposite  his  house,  she  demanded  to  see  “Father 
Tyson.”  A  crowd  collected  about  the  party,  and  she  so 
far  moved  their  pity,  that  they  insisted  that  her  wish  should 
be  complied  with.  One  of  the  men  hereupon  went  to 
inform  his  employer,  who  galloped  off,  pistol  in  hand,  and 
found  Elisha  Tyson  standing  at  his  own  door.  Wool- 
folk  with  an  oath  declared  he  would  “  send  him  to  hell 
for  interfering  with  his  property .”  Elisha  Tyson  coolly 
exposed  his  breast,  telling  him  that  he  dared  not  shoot, 
and  that  he  (Woolfolk)  “was  in  hell  already,  though  he 
did  not  know  it.”  An  investigation  followed  ;  the  poor 
woman  was  proved  to  be  illegally  detained,  and  was  set 
at  liberty.*  It  is  generally  allowed  that  so  bold  and 
uncompromising  an  advocate  of  the  negroes’  right  as 
Elisha  Tyson  does  not  now  remain  in  the  slave  States. 

As  the  old  school  of  abolitionists  has  been  mentioned, 
and  will  occasionally  be  referred  to  hereafter,  the  following 
historical  statement  of  its  rise  and  decline,  and  of  the 

*  See  Appendix  D  for  a  brief  account  of  this  ancient  philan¬ 
thropist. 


i 


OLD  ABOLITION  SOCIETIES. 


23 


commencement  of  the  present  abolition  movement,  will 
probably  be  interesting  to  the  anti-slavery  reader  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  my  valued 
coadjutor  John  G.  Whittier. 

“The  old  Anti-Slavery  Societies,  established  about  the 
period  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  of  which  the  late 
Judge  Jay,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Dr.  Rush,  and  other 
distinguished  statesmen  were  members,  were  composed 
mainly  of  the  Religious  Society  of  Friends.  These 
societies  were  for  many  years  active  and  energetic  in 
their  labors  for  the  slave,  and  the  free  people  of  color; 
and  little,  if  any,  serious  opposition  was  made  to  their 
exertions,  which  indeed  seem  to  have  been  confined  to  the 
particular  states  in  which  they  were  located.  They 
rendered  essential  service  in  promoting  the  gradual 
abolition  of  slavery  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and 
New  Jersey. 

“  In  1819  commenced  the  discussion  of  what  is  now 
known  as  the  ‘Missouri  Question.’  The  Anti-Slavery 
Societies  took  ground  against  the  admission  into  the  Union 
of  the  territory  of  Missouri  as  a  slave  state.  They 
succeeded  in  arousing  the  public  attention  ;  and  for  two 
sessions  the  subject  was  warmly  debated  in  Congress ;  the 
slave-holders  finally  carrying  their  point  by  working  upon 
the  fears  of  a  few  Northern  members,  by  means  of  that 
old  threat  of  dissolving  the  Union,  which  in  the  very 
outset  of  the  Government  had  extorted  from  the  Conven¬ 
tion  which  framed  the  Constitution,  a  clause  legalizing  the 
Foreign  Slave  Trade  for  twenty  years.  The  admission 
of  Missouri  as  a  slave  State  was  a  fatal  concession  to 
the  South:  the  abolitionists  became  disheartened:  their 
societies  lingered  on  a  few  years  longer,  and  nearly  all 


24 


BENJAMIN  LUNDY. 


were  extinct  previous  to  1830.  The  colonization  scheme 
had  in  the  mean  time,  in  despite  of  the  earnest  and  almost 
unanimous  rejection  of  it  by  the  colored  people,  obtained 
a  strong  hold  on  the  public  mind,  and  had  especially 
enlisted  the  favorable  regard  of  some  of  the  leading 
influences  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Here  and  there 
over  the  country,  might  be  found  still  a  faithful  laborer, 
like  Elisha  Tyson,  of  Baltimore,  Thomas  Shipley,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  Moses  Brown,  of  Rhode  Island,  hold¬ 
ing  up  the  good  old  testimony  against  prejudice  and 
oppression  in  the  midst  of  a  wide  spread  apostacy.  I 
should  mention  in  this  connection,  Benjamin  Lundy,  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  devoted  his  whole 
life  to  the  cause  of  freedom,  travelling  on  foot  thousands 
of  miles,  visiting  every  part  of  the  slave  States,  Mexico 
and  the  Haytian  Republic.  About  the  year  1828,  he 
visited  Boston,  and  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  then  a  very  young  man.  Not  long 
after,  he  was  joined  by  the  latter  as  an  associate  editor  of 
The  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation ,  an  anti-slavery 
paper  which  he  had  established  at  Baltimore.  After  a 
residence  in  Baltimore  of  about  six  months,  Garrison 
was  thrown  into  prison  for  an  alledged  libel  upon  a  north¬ 
ern  slave-trader,  whence  he  was  liberated  on  the  payment 
of  his  fine  by  the  benevolent  Arthur  Tappan.  Lundy 
continued  his  paper  some  time  longer  in  Baltimore,  where 
he  was  subjected  to  brutal  personal  violence  from  the 
notorious  Woolfolk,  the  great  slave-dealer  of  that  city. 
He  afterwards  removed  it  to  Philadelphia;  and  in  1834 
made  a  tour  through  the  South  Western  States  and  Texas, 
in  which  he  encountered  great  dangers,  and  suffered 
extreme  hardships  from  sickness  and  destitution.  This 


AMERICAN  ANTI-SLAVERY  SOCIETY. 


25 


journey  was  deemed  by  many  an  unprofitable  and  hazard¬ 
ous  experiment,  but  it  proved  of  great  importance.  He 
collected  an  immense  amount  of  facts,  developing  before¬ 
hand  the  grand  slave-holding  conspiracy  for  revolutionizing 
Texas,  and  annexing  it  to  the  American  Union,  as  a  slave 
territory.  These  he  published  to  the  world  on  his  return ; 
and  it  has  justly  been  said  of  him,  by  John  Quincy 
Adams,  that  his  exertions  alone,  under  Providence,  pre¬ 
vented  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United  States. 
This  bold  and  single-hearted  pioneer  died  not  long  since 
in  the  State  of  Illinois,  whither  he  repaired  to  take  the 
place  of  the  lamented  Lovejoy,  who  was  murdered  by  a 
mob  in  that  State,  in  1837. 

“  In  1831,  Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison  commenced,  under 
great  difficulties  and  discouragements,  the  publication  of 
the  Liberator ,  in  Boston ;  and  by  the  energy  and  earnest¬ 
ness  of  his  appeals,  roused  the  attention  of  many  minds 
to  the  subject  of  slavery.  Shortly  after,  a  society  was 
formed  in  Boston  in  favor  of  immediate  emancipation.  It 
consisted  at  first,  if  I  remember  right,  of  only  twelve 
members.  Previous  to  this,  however,  a  society,  embra¬ 
cing  very  similar  principles,  had  been  formed  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania.  In  1833,  upwards  of  sixty  delegates  from  several 
of  the  free  States,  met  at  Philadelphia ;  among  them 
were  Elizur  Wright  and  Beriah  Green,  (who  had  been 
compelled  to  give  up  their  Professorships  in  Western 
Reserve  [Ohio]  College,  for  their  attachment  to  freedom,) 
Lewis  Tappan,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Charles  W. 
Denison,  Arnold  Buffum,  Amos  A.  Phelps,  and  John 
G.  Whittier.  This  Convention  organized  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Anti-Slavery  Society,  proposing  to  make  use  of  the 
common  instrumentalities  afforded  by  the  Government 
3 


26  AMERICAN  AND  FOREIGN  ANTI- SLAVERY  SOCIETY. 

and  laws,  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  ;  at  the  same  time, 
disavowing  a  design  to  use  any  other  than  peaceful  and 
lawful  measures.” 

In  some  of  the  Southern  States  there  are  professing 
Christian  churches  who  permit  slave-holding,  but  disallow 
the  selling  of  slaves,  except  with  their  own  consent.  Dr. 
Fussell  informed  me  how  this  fair-seeming  rule  of  disci¬ 
pline  was  frequently  evaded.  First,  a  church  member 
wishing  to  turn  his  negroes  into  cash,  begins  by  making 
their  yoke  heavier,  and  their  life  a  burden.  Next  they  are 
thrown  in  the  way  of  decoy  slaves,  belonging  to  Wool- 
folk,  or  some  other  dealer,  who  introduce  themselves  to 
the  intended  victims,  for  the  purpose  of  expatiating  on  the 
privileges  enjoyed  by  the  slaves  of  so  indulgent  a  master 
as  theirs  ;  and  thus  the  poor  unhappy  dupes  would  be 
persuaded  to  go  and  petition  to  be  sold,  and  so  the  rule 
of  discipline,  above  cited,  would  be  literally  complied 
with.  So  great,  generally,  is  the  dread  of  being  sold  to 
the  South,  that  my  informant  said  the  larger  number  of 
runaways  escape  when  the  price  is  high,  as  the  danger  of 
being  sold  is  then  most  imminent.  The  greater  proportion 
of  those  who  thus  emancipate  themselves  are  domestics, 
owing  to  their  superior  intelligence,  and  their  opportunities 
of  ascertaining  the  best  mode  of  escape. 

On  the  16th,  I  met  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
American  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  at  their 
office,  No.  128  Fulton  street,  New  York.  The  chair  was 
taken  by  the  President  of  the  Society.  The  subject  under 
discussion  was  the  best  time  and  place  of  holding  another 
Convention  of  the  friends  of  the  anti-slavery  cause  from 
all  parts  of  the  world.  After  deliberate  consideration,  the 
following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted. 


PHILADELPHIA. 


27 


Resolved,  —  “That  this  Committee  fully  recognise  and 
adopt  the  principles  upon  which  the  General  Anti-Slavery 
Convention,  held  in  London  last  year,  was  convened,  and 
upon  which  it  acted  ;  that  we  feel  greatly  encouraged  by 
the  results  of  its  meetings,  and  that  we  would  strongly 
recommend  our  transatlantic  friends  to  summon  a  second 
Convention  in  London,  at  about  the  same  period  in  1842; 
and  that  in  the  event  of  their  doing  so,  we  will  use  our 
best  exertions  to  promote  a  good  representation  of  American 
abolitionists  on  the  occasion.” 

Resolved,  —  “  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the 
British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  in  their  noble 
efforts  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade  ; 
that  we  assure  them  of  our  hearty  co-operation  in  their 
well  devised  plans  and  energetic  labors ;  and  that  so  long 
as  the  slave  question  —  in  connection  with  the  promotion 
of  the  rights  of  the  free  people  of  color  —  and  nothing 
else,  is  admitted  to  a  place  in  anti-slavery  meetings,  they 
may  expect  the  co-operation  of  all  true-hearted  abolition¬ 
ists  throughout  the  world,  in  carrying  forward  the  great 
objects  of  our  associations  to  a  glorious  consummation.” 

I  returned  to  Philadelphia  on  the  afternoon  of  the  17th. 
but  before  leaving  my  hotel  in  New  York,  informed  one 
of  the  proprietors  that  I  intended  being  in  that  city  on  the 
week  of  the  anniversaries  of  the  Religious  and  Benevolent 
Institutions;  that  as  I  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  anti¬ 
slavery  question,  it  was  probable  some  of  my  friends 
among  the  people  of  color  would  call  upon  me,  and  that 
if  he,  or  any  of  his  southern  customers  objected  to  this,  I 
would  go  elsewhere  ;  he  answered  that  he  had  no  objection, 
and  even  intimated  his  belief  that  public  opinion  was 
undergoing  a  favorable  change  in  reference  to  this  preju- 


28 


friends’  yearly  meeting. 


dice.  Although  I  did  not  arrive  in  Philadelphia  till  near 
midnight,  I  found  my  kind  friends,  Samuel  Webb  and 
wife  waiting  to  receive  me,  whose  hospitable  dwelling  I 
made  my  home,  whenever  I  afterwards  lodged  in  this  city. 
Samuel  Webb  is  one  of  the  few  on  whose  shoulders  the 
burden  of  the  anti-slavery  cause  mainly  rests  in  Philadel¬ 
phia.  He  is  a  practical  man,  conversant  with  business, 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  anti-slavery  subject  in  all 
its  phases,  and  a  strenuous  advocate  for  bringing  political 
influence  to  bear  upon  the  question.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  active  in  promoting  the  erection  of  Pennsylvania 
Hall,  a  beautiful  edifice  designed  to  be  open  to  the  use  of 
the  anti-slavery  societies  ;  which  was  no  sooner  so  appro¬ 
priated  than  it  was  destroyed  by  a  mob  in  the  5th  Month, 
(May)  1838.  The  fire-scathed  ruin  of  this  building  yet 
stands  a  conspicuous  token  that  the  principles  of  true 
liberty,  though  loudly  vaunted,  are  neither  understood  nor 
enjoyed  in  this  Capital  of  a  free  republic,  if  freedom  of 
thought,  of  speech,  of  the  press,  and  the  right  of  petition 
had  been  realities  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania  Hall 
would  have  been  yet  standing.  Samuel  Webb  has  since 
taken  the  chief  labor  of  an  appeal  to  the  legal  tribunals 
for  compensation  for  this  infamous  destruction  of  property, 
and  a  jury  have  at  length  awarded  damages,  though  to  a 
very  inadequate  amount. 

During  the  ensuing  week  I  was  chiefly  occupied  in 
attending  the  Philadelphia  Friends’  Yearly  Meeting.  In 
the  intervals  of  the  sittings,  I  had  many  opportunities  of 
meeting  “  Friends  ”  from  whom  I  received  much  kindness, 
and  many  more  invitations  than  it  was  possible  for  me  to 
accept. 


friends’  yearly  meeting. 


29 


There  are  many  “Friends”  of  this  city  who  take  a 
deep  interest  in  the  anti-slavery  cause ;  among  whom  I 
may  mention  Thomas  Wistar,  an  aged  and  influential 
individual,  who,  dike  his  venerable  contemporary,  John 
Cox,  has  been  an  abolitionist  from  his  youth  up,  and  a 
member  of  the  original  society ;  and  one  who  has  been 
accustomed  to  bear  his  testimony  on  behalf  of  the 
oppressed,  on  suitable  occasions,  in  the  presence  of  his 
brethren  in  religious  fellowship,  and  whose  communications 
of  this  kind,  are  always  weighty,  solemn,  and  impressive. 
Dr.  Caspar  Wistar,  son  of  Thomas  Wistar,  is  a  warm 
hearted,  active  abolitionist,  a  liberal  contributor  of  his 
pecuniary  means,  and  deeply  solicitous  that  “  Friends  ”  in 
the  United  States  should  be  induced  to  engage  earnestly 
in  the  cause  of  emancipation.  Edward  Needles,  a  kind 
and  open  hearted  man,  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  “  old  Abolition  Society,”  is  a  devoted  friend 
to  the  anti-slavery  cause. 

The  subject  of  slavery  was  introduced  in  the  Yearly 
Meeting  by  the  reading  of  certain  minutes  of  the  Meeting 
for  Sufferings,  from  which  it  appeared  that  meeting,  (the 
executive  Committee  of  the  Society,)  had  taken  up  the 
question  of  the  foreign  slave-trade,  but  had  not  yet  enter¬ 
tained  the  consideration  of  the  slavery  and  internal  slave- 
trade  of  their  own  country.  On  the  subject  of  the  latter, 
a  very  faithful  minute  from  the  Meeting  for  Sufferings  in 
London  was  received  and  read. 

As  this  term  will  sometimes  occur  in  the  ensuing 
pages,  it  may  be  necessary  to  state  for  the  information  of 
the  general  reader,  that  the  Society  of  Friends  is  distributed 
into  various  “  Yearly  Meetings,”  of  which  there  are  several 
on  the  Continent  of  North  America.  Within  the  compass 
3* 


30 


friends’  yearly  meeting. 


of  each  an  annual  assembly  is  held  to  regulate  all  the 
affairs  and  discipline  of  that  section  of  the  body.  There 
is  also  in  each  Yearly  Meeting  a  permanent  committee 
called  the  “Meeting  for  Sufferings”  for  administering  the 
affairs  of  the  Societies,  in  the  intervals  of  its  annual 
assemblies.  The  technical  name  of  this  committee  is 
an  expressive  memorial  of  those  times  of  trial,  when  its 
chief  employment  was  to  record  “  sufferings  ”  and  perse¬ 
cutions,  and  to  afford  such  succor  and  alleviation  as 
circumstances  admitted. 

An  address  from  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  London  on 
slavery  was  also  read,*  which  was  followed  by  observations 
from  several,  which  evinced  great  exercise  of  mind  on  the 
subject.  Three  thousand  copies  of  it  were  ordered  to  be 
printed  for  distribution  among  Friends  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  whole  subject  of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade  was 
referred  to  their  Meeting  for  Sufferings,  with  a  recommen¬ 
dation  that  an  account  should  be  drawn  up  and  printed  of 
the  former  abolition  of  slavery  within  the  limits  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  I  need  hardly  state  how  much  these 
measures  were  in  unison  with  my  own  feelings,  and  that  1 
heartily  rejoiced  at  signs  of  an  awakening  zeal  in  my 
American  brethren.  Let  them  but  ask  for  the  ancient 
ways,  and  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  predecessors, 
whose  memorials  are  their  precious  inheritance,  and  once 
more  shall  they  be  made  a  blessing  to  mankind,  and  mes¬ 
sengers  of  mercy  and  deliverance  to  the  oppressed-! 

It  will  be  interesting  to  some  of  my  English  readers  to 
to  be  informed,  that  both  the  sale  and  use  of  spirit¬ 
uous  liquors  come  within  the  scope  of  discipline  among 

*  See  Appendix  A.  t  See  Appendix  B. 


friends’  yearly  meeting. 


31 


“Friends”  in  America.  In  this  Yearly  Meeting  it  is 
required  that  the  subordinate  meetings  should  report  the 
number  of  their  members,  who  continue  to  sell,  use,  or 
give  ardent  spirits.  If  I  remember  rightly  the  number  of 
cases  reported  was  fifty-nine.  At  present  the  moderate 
use  of  spirits  subjects  to  admonition,  but  it  was  discussed 
at  this  time  whether  the  rule  of  discipline  should  not  be 
rendered  more  stringent,  and  this  practice  made  a  disown - 
able  offence.  Finally  it  was  resolved  to  make  no  alter¬ 
ation  at  present,  but  to  recommend  the  local  meetings  of 
Friends  to  use  further  labor  in  the  line  of  reproof  and 
persuasion.  I  am  informed,  that  some  of  the  American 
Yearly  Meetings  of  Friends  go  still  farther  on  this  subject. 
It  will  scarcely  be  questioned  that  public  sentiment  both 
in  the  United  States,  and  in  England,  condemns  even  the 
moderate  use  of  ardent  spirits  as  a  beverage,  though  some 
difference  of  opinion  will  exist  as  to  the  propriety  of  a 
religious  society  making  it  a  cause  of  disownment  or 
exclusion.  In  this  case  of  the  Philadelphia  Meeting, 
however,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  in  a  community  of 
many  thousand  members,  the  practice  may  be  regarded  as 
almost  eradicated  by  the  milder  methods  of  persuasion. 
It  is  a  fact  deserving  of  notice,  that  the  same  worthies  of 
the  last  century,  Woolman,  Benezet,  and  others,  who 
raised  the  standard  of  anti-slavery  testimony,  also  by  the 
same  process  of  independent  thinking,  and  single-minded, 
unhesitating  obedience  to  convictions  of  duty,  anticipated 
the  verdict  of  public  opinion  on  this  subject.  Woolman 
found  that  even  the  most  moderate  use  of  ardent  spirits, 
was  unfavorable  to  that  calm  religious  meditation,  which 
was  the  habit  of  his  mind,  and  has  left  his  views  on  record 
in  various  characteristic  passages.  I  shall  also,  I  trust,  be 


32  friends’  yearly  meeting. 

excused  for  introducing  the  following  anecdote  of  two  of 
his  contemporaries. 

“  Jacob  Lindley,  to  adopt  his  own  designation  of 
himself  was  a  ‘stripling’  when  he  attended  a  Yearly 
Meeting  of  Friends  held  at  Philadelphia;  his  mind  had 
been  for  some  time  much  afflicted  with  an  observation  of 
the  pernicious  effects  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  he  was 
anxious  that  the  religious  society  to  which  he  belonged, 
should  cease  to  use,  and  prevent  any  of  its  members  from 
being  instrumental  in  manufacturing  or  vending  them.  He 
therefore  rose  and  developed  his  feelings  to  the  assembly, 
in  the  energetic  and  pathetic  manner  for  which  he  was 
peculiarly  remarkable.  When  the  meeting  adjourned,  he 
observed  a  stranger  pressing  through  the  crowd  towards 
him,  who  took  him  by  the  hand  in  the  most  affectionate 
manner,  and  said,  ‘  My  dear  young  friend,  I  was  very  glad 
to  hear  thy  voice  on  the  subject  of  spirituous  liquors ;  I 
have  much  unity  with  thy  concern,  and  hope  that  no 
discouragement  may  have  been  received  from  its  not  being 
farther  noticed ;  and  now  I  want  thee  to  go  home,  and 
take  dinner  with  me,  having  something  farther  to  say  to 
thee  on  the  subject.’  Lindley  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  after  they  had  dined,  Benezet  introduced  his  young- 
guest  into  a  little  room  used  as  a  study,  where  he  produced 
a  manuscript  work  on  the  subject  of  spirituous  liquors,  in 
an  unfinished  state ;  he  opened  the  book  and  laid  it  on  a 
table  before  them,  saying,  ‘  *This  is  a  treatise  which  I  have 
been  for  some  time  engaged  in  writing,  on  the  subject  of 
thy  concern  in  meeting  to-day ;  and  now  if  thou  hast  a 
mind  to  sit  down,  and  write  a  paragraph  or  two,  I  will 
embody  it  in  the  work,  and  have  it  published.’  ”  * 

*  Life  of  Anthony  Benezet,  p.  107 — 109. 


friends’  yearly  meeting. 


33 


These  eminent  men,  John  Woolman  and  Anthony 
Benezet,  had  much  in  common ;  yet  their  characters 
were  as  unlike  as  opposite  temperaments,  and  as  alike  as 
similarity  of  views,  could  make  them.  So  marked  was 
their  coincidence  of  sentiment  in  opposition  to  the  prevail¬ 
ing  opinions  and  practices  of  that  day,  that  it  might  be 
surmised  one  was  a  disciple  of  the  other,  yet  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  such  was  the  case.  Each  had  the 
single  eye ;  both  learned  in  the  same  school,  and  sat  at 
the  feet  of  the  same  Divine  Master.  It  is  an  interesting 
fact  that  on  the  subject  last  noticed,  their  labors  should 
have  been  comparatively  fruitless,  and  for  a  long  interval 
almost  forgotten,  while  their  views  on  slavery  rapidly 
spread,  and  produced  extensive  and  permanent  results. 
Does  not  this  illustrate  the  lesson  long  ago  taught  by  a 
great  master  of  wisdom :  “  In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed, 
and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thy  hand ;  for  thou 
knowest  not  whether  shall  prosper,  either  this  or  that,  or 
whether  they  shall  both  be  alike  good.”  May  we  not 
infer  from  this,  that  even  those  labors,  rightly  undertaken, 
which  do  not  immediately  prosper,  are  yet  owned  and 
accepted  in  the  Divine  sight  ? 

To  return  from  this  digression  to  our  attendance  of 
the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Philadelphia:  one  interesting  part 
of  the  business  was  the  annual  report  on  education ;  from 
which  it  appeared,  that  the  whole  number  of  children,  of 
an  age  for  education,  within  the  compass  of  this  Yearly 
Meeting,  was  eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen,  and  of  these 
ninety-eight  were  temporarily  absent,  though  most  of  them 
had  been  receiving  instruction  during  part  of  the  year. 

I  was  also  deeply  interested  in  the  statements  made 
relative  to  the  wicked  expatriation  of  the  Indians  living 


34 


JOHN  CANDLER. 


within  this  Yearly  Meeting’s  limits,  by  the  United  States 
Government,  from  lands  which  had  been  secured  to  them 
by  treaty  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  to  the  Western 
wilderness,  under  plea  of  a  fraudulently  obtained  cession 
of  their  lands,  by  a  few  of  their  number.  What  greatly 
aggravates  the  case  is  the  fact,  that  these  Indians  were 
making  rapid  progress  in  civilization,  and  from  a  nation  of 
hunters  had  generally  become  an  agricultural  people. 
Their  whole  history  is  a  reproach  and  blot  on  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Government,  and  shews  either  that  public  and  private 
virtue  amongst  the  people  is  at  a  low  ebb,  or  that  “  the 
wicked  bear  rule.”  On  behalf  of  this  injured  people, 
“Friends  ”  appear  to  have  made  strenuous  efforts,  but  have 
failed  in  producing  any  decidedly  favorable  impression  on 
the  Government.  The  report  on  this  subject,  embodied  a 
very  affecting  letter  from  the  chiefs  of  this  tribe,  describing 
their  grief  and  distress  at  the  prospect  of  a  cruel  removal 
from  the  homes  of  their  ancestors.* 

During  this  week,  my  valued  friends,  John  and  Maria 
Candler,  arrived  from  Hayti,  after  a  stay  of  many  months 
in  Jamaica.  At  the  close  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  a 
meeting  was  held,  and  attended  by  about  three  hundred 
“Friends,”  to  whom  John  Candler  gave  much  inter¬ 
esting  information,  detailing  the  results  of  emancipation  in 
that  Island,  from  his  own  extensive  observations  and 
inquiries.  At  the  request  of  some  individuals  present  I 
added  a  few  observations  at  the  close,  on  the  principles 
and  objects  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery 

I  visited  at  this  time  the  celebrated  Schuylkill  water¬ 
works,  which  are  beautifully  situated  on  the  river  of  that 

*  See  Appendix  C. 


ANTI-SLAVERY  SCHISM. 


35 


name.  The  water  is  raised  to  large  reservoirs,  at  a  higher 

level  than  the  tops  of  the  houses,  by  pumps  worked  by 
the  current  of  the  river.  The  supply  not  only  suffices  for 

the  domestic  use  of  the  inhabitants,  but  is  abundant  for 
every  public  purpose  of  ornament  or  utility.  My  kind 
host,  Samuel  Webb,  who  accompanied  me,  pointed  out  a 
plot  of  land,  presented  by  William  Penn  to  a  friend,  to 
enable  him  to  keep  a  cow,  which  is  now  worth  many 
hundred  thousand  dollars  for  building  purposes.  v  He  also 
showed  me  a  mansion,  the  late  proprietor  of  which  had 
received  a  large  accession  of  wealtli  from  the  quantities  of 
plate  which  had  been  shipped  to  him  in  coffee  barrels  from 
St.  Domingo,  on  the  eve  of  the  revolution  in  that  Island, 
and  whose  owners  are  supposed  to  have  subsequently 
perished,  as  they  never  appeared,  with  one  solitary  ex¬ 
ception,  to  claim  their  property. 

It  will  be  necessary,  in  order  to  make  certain  passages 
of  the  succeeding  narrative  intelligible  to  my  readers  in 
this  country,  that  some  account  should  be  given  of  the 
schism  which  has  recently  taken  place  in  the  once  united 
and  compact  organizations  of  the  abolitionists. 

The  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  whose  origin 
has  been  already  described,  acted  with  great  unity  and 
efficiency  for  several  years ;  auxiliaries  were  formed  in  all 
the  free  Stales;  it  scattered  its  publications  over  the  land 
like  the  leaves  of  autumn,  and  at  times  had  thirty  or  forty 
lecturers  in  the  field.  It  kept  a  steady  and  vigilant  eye 
upon  the  movements  of  the  pro-slavery  party,  and  wher¬ 
ever  a  vulnerable  point  was  discovered,  it  directed  its 
attacks.  In  its  executive  committee  were  such  men  as 
Judge  Jay,  Arthur  and  Lewis  Tappan,  La  Roy  Sunder¬ 
land,  Simeon  S.  Jocelyn,  (the  early  laborer  on  behalf  of 


36 


ANTI-SLAVERY  SCHISM. 


the  free  colored  people,)  Joshua  Leavitt,  Henry  B.  Stan¬ 
ton,  and  the  late  Dr.  Follen,  a  German  political  refugee, 
equally  distinguished  for  his  literary  attainments  and  his 
love  of  liberty. 

Until  the  last  three  or  four  years,  entire  union  of  purpose 
and  concert  of  action  existed  among  the  American  aboli¬ 
tionists.  This  harmony  was  first  disturbed  by  the  course 
pursued  in  the  Boston  Liberator.  The  editor  of  that 
paper,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  whose  early  anti-slavery 
career  has  already  been  alluded  to,  and  who  was  deserv¬ 
edly  honored  by  the  great  body  of  the  abolitionists,  for 
his  sufferings  in  their  cause,  and  for  his  triumphant  ex¬ 
posure  of  the  oppressive  tendencies  of  the  colonization 
scheme,  had  always  refused  to  share  with  any  society  or 
committee,  the  editorial  responsibility  of  his  journal. 
About  the  time  referred  to,  several  pieces  were  inserted  in 
the  Liberator ,  questioning  the  generally  received  opinions 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  These  were  followed  by 
others  on  other  subjects,  and  he  continued  to  keep  his 
readers  apprised  of  the  new  views  of  ethics  and  theology, 
which  from  time  to  time  were  presented  to  his  own  mind. 
His  paper  was  not  the  special  organ  of  any  anti-slavery 
society,  yet  it  was  regarded,  by  general  consent  of  the 
friends  and  enemies  of  the  cause,  as  the  organ  of  the  anti¬ 
slavery  movement.  The  discussion  in  its  columns  of  new 
and  startling  doctrines,  on  subjects  unconnected  with 
slavery,  occasioned  many  of  the  former  much  uneasiness 
and  embarrassment,  while  it  furnished  the  latter  with  new 
excuses  for  their  enmity,  and  with  the  pretence  that  under 
cover  of  abolition ,  lurked  a  design  of  assailing  institutions 
and  opinions  justly  held  in  regard  throughout  the  Christian 
world. 


ANTI-SLAVERY  SCHISM. 


37 


In  the  summer  of  1837,  Sarah  and  Angelina  Grimke 
visited  New  England  for  the  purpose  of  advocating  the 
cause  of  the  slave,  with  whose  condition  they  were  well 
acquainted,  being  natives  of  South  Carolina,  and  having 
been  themselves  at  one  time  implicated  in  the  system. 
Their  original  intention  was  to  confine  their  public  labors 
to  audiences  of  their  own  sex,  but  they  finally  addressed 
promiscuous  assemblies.  Their  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  true  character  of  slavery ;  their  zeal,  devotion,  and 
gifts  as  speakers,  produced  a  deep  impression,  wherever 
they  went.  They  met  with  considerable  opposition  from 
colonizationists,  and  also  from  a  portion  of  the  New 
England  clergy,  on  the  ground  of  the  impropriety  of  their 
publicly  addressing  mixed  audiences.  This  called  forth 
in  the  Liberator,  which  at  that  time,  I  understand,  was 
under  the  patronage,  though  I  believe  not  under  the 
control  of  the  Massachusetts  Anti-Slavery  Society,  a 
discussion  of  the  abstract  question  of  the  entire  equality 
of  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  two  sexes.  Here  was  a 
new  element  of  discord.  In  1838,  at  the  annual  New 
England  convention  of  abolitionists,  a  woman  was  for  the 
first  time  placed  on  committees  with  men,  an  innovation 
upon  the  general  custom  of  the  community,  which  excited 
much  dissatisfaction  in  the  minds  of  many. 

About  this  time  the  rightfulness  of  civil  and  church 
government  began  to  be  called  in  question,  through  the 
columns  of  the  Liberator,  by  its  editor  and  correspondents. 
These  opinions  were  concurrently  advocated  with  the 
doctrine  of  non-resistance.  Those  who  hold  these 
opinions,  while  they  deny  that  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
government  are  of  divine  authority,  are  yet  passively 
submissive  to  the  authority  of  the  former,  though  they 
4 


38 


ANTI-SLAVERY  SCHISM. 


abstain  from  exercising  the  political  rights  of  citizenship. 
There  were  not  wanting  those,  among  the  opponents  of 
abolition,  to  charge  the  anti-slavery  body  at  large  with 
maintaining  these  views,  and  in  consequence  serious 
embarrassments  were  thrown  in  the  way  of  a  successful 
prosecution  of  the  cause.  The  executive  committee  of 
the  Society  at  New  York  were  placed  in  a  difficult 
position,  but  as  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge,  they  endeavored 
to  hold  on  the  steady  tenor  of  their  way,  without,  on  the 
one  hand,  countenancing  the  introduction  of  extraneous 
matters  upon  the  anti-slavery  platform  ;  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  yielding  to  the  clamor  of  the  pro-slavery  party, 
whether  in  church  or  state. 

in  subsequent  anti-slavery  meetings  in  Boston,  New 
York,  and  elsewhere,  it  became  manifest  that  there  was 
a  radical  difference  of  opinion  on  the  subject  of  political 
action ;  the  non-resistant  and  no-government  influence, 
operating  decidedly  against  the  employment  of  the  elective 
franchise  in  the  anti-slavery  cause  ;  and  the  agitation  of 
this  question,  as  well  as  that  of  the  rights  of  women,  in 
their  meetings,  gave  to  them  a  discordant  and  party 
character,  painfully  contrasting  with  the  previous  peaceful 
and  harmonious  action  of  the  societies.  That  some  of 
both  parties  began  to  overlook  the  great  subject  of  the 
slaves’  emancipation,  in  zealous  advocacy  of,  or  opposition 
to,  these  new  measures,  I  cannot  well  doubt,  judging  from 
the  testimony  of  those,  who,  not  fully  sympathizing  with 
either,  endeavored  to  bring  all  back  to  the  single  object  of 
the  anti-slavery  association.  In  addition  to  these  intestine 
troubles,  the  pro-slavery  party  made  strenuous  exertions 
to  fasten  upon  the  society  the  responsibility  of  the  opinions 
and  proceedings  of  its  non-resistant  and  no-government 


ANTI-SLAVERY  SCHISM. 


39 


members.  Under  these  circumstances  it  is  easy  to 
understand  the  interruption,  for  a  season,  of  the  unity  of 
feeling  and  action  which  had  previously  characterized  the 
assemblies  of  the  abolitionists.  The  actual  separation  in 
the  societies  took  place  in  the  Spring  of  1840.  The 
members  of  the  executive  committee  at  New  York,  with 
one  exception,  seceded  and  became  members  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  of  the  “  new  organization,”  under  the  name  of  the 
“  American  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society.”  There 
are,  therefore,  now  two  central  or  national  anti-slavery  soci¬ 
eties  ;  the  “  old  organization,”  retaining  the  designation  of 
the  “  American  Anti-Slavery  Society.”  The  State  Soci¬ 
eties  have,  for  the  most  part,  taken  up  a  position  of  neutral¬ 
ity,  or  independence  of  both.  It  is  important  to  add  that 
the  division  took  place  on  the  “  women’s  rights”  question, 
and  that  this  is  the  only  one  of  the  controverted  points 
which  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society  has  officially 
affirmed  ;  and  it  is  argued,  on  behalf  of  their  view  of  this 
question,  that  since,  in  the  original  “  constitution  ”  of  the 
society,  the  term,  describing  its  members,  officers,  et  cet.,  is 
“  persons,”  that  women  are  plainly  invested  with  the  same 
eligibility  to  appointments,  and  the  same  right  to  vote  and 
act  as  the  other  sex.  I  need  not  say  how  this  “  constitu¬ 
tional  ”  argument  is  met  on  the  other  side.  The  other 
new  views  are  held  by  comparatively  few  persons,  and 
neither  anti-slavery  society  in  America  is  responsible  for 
them.  In  conclusion,  I  rejoice  to  be  able  to  add,  that  the 
separation,  in  its  effects,  appears  to  have  been  a  healing 
measure  ;  a  better  and  kinder  feeling  is  beginning  to 
pervade  all  classes  of  American  abolitionists ;  the  day  of 
mutual  crimination  seems  to  be  passing  away,  and  there 
is  strong  reason  to  hope  that  the  action  of  the  respective 


40 


PHILADELPHIA. 


societies  will  henceforward  harmoniously  tend  to  the  same 
object.  That  such  may  be  the  result  is  my  sincere 
desire.  It  is  proper  in  this  connection  to  state  that  a 
considerable  number  of  active  and  prominent  abolitionists 
do  not  entirely  sympathize  with  either  division  of  the 
anti-slavery  society ;  and  there  are  comparatively  few 
who  make  their  views,  for  or  against  the  question  on 
which  the  division  took  place,  a  matter  of  conscience. 

I  have  now  given  a  brief,  and  I  trust  an  impartial 
account  of  the  origin  of  these  dissensions.  Some  may 
possibly  regard  the  views  and  proceedings  above  referred 
to,  as  the  natural  growth  of  abolitionism,  but  as  well 
might  the  divisions  among  the  early  reformers  be  charged 
upon  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  or  the  “  thirty 
years’  war”  upon  the  preaching  of  Luther. 

On  the  evening  of  the  14th  instant,  we  met  at  a 
social  party  the  leading  abolitionists  of  Philadelphia  of 
the  “  old  organization.”  There  were  present  all  but  one 
of  the  delegates  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  London  Con¬ 
vention.  I  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  briefly 
and  distinctly  stating  the  unanimous  conclusion  of  the 
London  Anti-Slavery  Committee,  in  which  I  entirely 
concurred,  on  the  points  at  issue.  I  observed,  in 
substance,  that  in  the  struggle  for  the  liberation  of  the 
slaves  in  the  British  Colonies,  one  great  source  of  our 
moral  strength  was,  the  singleness  of  our  object,  and  our 
not  allowing  any  other  subject,  however  important  or 
unexceptionable,  to  be  mixed  up  with  it ;  that  though  the 
aid  of  our  female  coadjutors  had  been  of  vital  importance 
to  the  success  of  the  anti-slavery  enterprize,  yet  that  their 
exertions  had  been  uniformly  directed  by  separate  com¬ 
mittees  of  their  own  sex,  and  that  the  abolitionists  of 


women’s  rights. 


41 


Europe  had  no  doubt  that  their  united  influence  was  most 
powerful  in  this  mode  of  action  :  that  the  London  Com¬ 
mittee  being  convinced  that  no  female  delegate  had 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  under  the  belief  that  the  “  call  ”  or 
invitation  was  intended  to  include  women,  felt  themselves 
called  upon,  without  in  the  slightest  degree  wishing  to 
interfere  with  private  opinion  on  this,  or  any  other  subject, 
to  withhold  their  assent  to  the  reception  of  such  delegates, 
as  members  of  the  Convention,  and  that  their  decision, 
when  appealed  against,  had  been  ratified  in  the  Convention 
itself,  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  after  a  protracted  dis¬ 
cussion  :  finally,  that  those  whose  views  I  represented,  could 
not  be  parties  to  the  introduction,  in  any  future  convention, 
of  this  or  any  other  question,  which  we  deemed  foreign 
to  our  cause,  and  therefore  that  for  those  with  whom  it 
was  a  point  of  conscience  to  carry  out  what  they  deemed 
“women’s  rights,”  I  saw  no  alternative  but  a  separate 
organization,  in  which  I  wished  that  their  efforts  on 
behalf  of  the  oppressed  colored  race,  might  be  crowned 
with  the  largest  measure  of  success.  I  observed,  in 
conclusion,  that  my  object  was  simply  to  state  the  decision 
of  those  with  whom  I  acted  in  Great  Britain,  and  that  I 
must  decline  discussion,  being  fully  convinced  that  it  was 
better  that  the  now  separate  societies  should  aim  at  the 
common  object,  in  a  spirit  of  kind  and  friendly  co-opera¬ 
tion,  each  in  its  own  sphere,  rather  than  that  they  should 
waste  their  energies  in  mutual  contentions,  and  in  the 
unprofitable  discussion  of  topics  not  legitimately  belonging 
to  the  great  question  of  the  abolition  of  slavery. 

Although  I  had  to  address  a  company  almost 
unanimously  opposed  on  these  points  to  myself,  my 
communication  was  received  in  a  kind  and  friendly  spirit, 
4  # 


42 


SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS* 


and  I  was  courteously  informed  that  it  would  be  taken 
into  consideration  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Committee. 

My  friend,  Daniel  Neall,  at  whose  house  this  interview 
took  place,  is  a  venerable  looking  man,  a  native  of  Dela¬ 
ware,  and  son-in-law  of  the  excellent  Warner  Mifflin. 
He  has  been  an  abolitionist  from  his  boyhood.  Two 
years  ago,  he  was  dragged  from  the  house  of  a  friend  in 
Delaware,  and  tarred  and  feathered,  and  otherwise 
mal-treated  by  a  mob  of  slave-holders  and  their  abettors ; 
he  mildly  told  those  near  him  that  if  they  would  call  at 
his  house  at  Philadelphia,  he  would  treat  them  in  a  very 
different  manner.  He  was  president  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Hall  Association,  and  in  the  terrible  mobs  of  1838, 
manifested  a  calm,  quiet  courage,  as  rare  as  it  is  com¬ 
mendable. 

I  remained  in  Philadelphia  until  the  morning  of  the 
28th,  and  during  this  interval  paid  many  visits,  and 
obtained  much  information,  on  the  state  of  the  anti-slavery 
feeling  in  this  city,  and  more  particularly  amongst  the 
members  of  the  religious  community  to  which  I  belong. 
On  one  occasion  an  esteemed  individual  kindly  invited  a 
number  of  “  Friends”  to  meet  me  at  his  house,  including 
some  who  object  to  uniting  in  anti-slavery  effort  with  those 
of  other  denominations.  I  was  introduced  by  the  reading 
of  a  certificate  of  membership  from  the  monthly  meeting 
to  which  I  belong,  and  also  a  document  from  a  number  of 
“Friends”  in  England,  well  known  to  those  in  America, 
commending  me,  and  the  cause  in  which  I  was  engaged, 
to  their  kind  and  favorable  consideration. 

I  then  briefly  related  the  leading  objects  of  my  visit 
to  America,  and  that  it  was  my  anxious  wish  the  members 
of  my  own  religious  society  in  this  land,  could  see  it  their 


BALTIMORE. 


43 


place  to  take  the  same  active  and  prominent  part  in  the 
anti-slavery  cause,  as  their  brethren  in  England  had  done, 
especially  as  the  principles  on  which  the  British  and 
Foreign  and  the  American  and  Foreign  Soqieties  were 
founded,  were  entirely  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  Those  who  spoke  in  reply  mostly 
vindicated  the  course  pursued  in  the  United  States.  From 
this  interview,  as  well  as  from  others  of  a  more  private 
nature,  with  leading  “  Friends,”  I  came  to  the  conclusion, 
that  a  number  of  these  would  continue,  by  their  influence 
and  advice,  to  oppose  their  fellow  members  joining  anti¬ 
slavery  societies,  though  it  is  not  probable  that  any 
disciplinary  proceedings  would  be  taken  against  such  who 
might  act  in  opposition  to  this  counsel,  so  long  as  the 
recognized  principles  of  the  Society  were  not  compromised. 
On  this,  to  me,  painfully  interesting  subject,  I  could  dwell 
at  length,  but  I  will  simply  remark  that,  while  it  is  evident 
that  anti-slavery  feeling  is  at  too  Iqw  an  ebb  among 
“  Friends”  here,  yet  doubtless,  many  of  those  who  thus 
excuse  themselves  from  active  and  effective  service  in  the 
cause,  still  deeply  sympathize  with  their  oppressed  fellow- 
men,  and  are  not  quite  at  ease  in  view  of  the  apathy  and 
inaction  of  the  body  to  which  they  belong. 

On  the  28th  we  arrived  at  Baltimore ;  during  a  stay  of 
two  or  three  days,  we  found  several  persons  who  were 
friendly  to  our  cause.  There  are  computed  to  be  five 
thousand  slaves  in  this  city,  but  of  course  slavery  does  not 
obtrude  itself  on  the  casual  observer.  Here,  as  in  other 
countries,  he  who  would  see  it  as  it  is,  must  view  it  on  the 
plantations. 

The  free  people  of  color  in  Baltimore,  are  alive  to  the 
importance  of  education.  One  individual  told  us,  that  in 


44 


BALTIMORE. 


distributing  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  religious  books, 
which  had  been  sent  to  be  gratuitously  supplied  to  the 
poor  of  this  class,  he  found  only  five  or  six  families,  in 
which  the  children  were  not  learning  to  read  and  write. 

While  in  Baltimore,  the  inquiries  I  made  respecting 
Elisha  Tyson,  fully  confirmed  the  impression  I  have 
attempted  to  convey  of  his  extraordinary  character ;  per¬ 
haps  no  one  has  so  good  a  claim  to  be  considered  the 
Granville  Sharp  of  North  America,  and  I  have  inserted  in 
another  place  some  particulars  drawn  from  his  biography, 
which  will  be  found  full  of  interest.*  I  am  glad  also  to 
state,  that  if  there  is  no  one  citizen  of  Baltimore  on  whom 
his  mantle  rests,  there  are  yet  some  who  are  active  in 
preventing  the  illegal  detention  of  negroes,  and  of  bringing 
such  cases  before  the  proper  tribunal.  One  of  these 
related  the  following  case  of  recent  occurrence.  A  woman, 
who  was  the  wife  of  a  free  man,  and  the  mother  of  four 
children,  and  who  had  long  believed  herself  legally  free, 
was  claimed  by  the  heir  of  her  former  master.  The  case 
was  tried,  and  his  right  of  property  in  her  and  her  children 
affirmed.  He  then  sold  the  family  to  a  slave  dealer  for  a 
thousand  dollars;  of  whom  the  husband  of  the  woman 
re-purchased  them,  (his  own  wife  and  children,)  for  eleven 
hundred  dollars,  to  repay  which  he  bound  himself  to  labor 
for  the  person  from  whom  it  was  borrowed,  for  twelve 
years.  Yet  this  is  but  a  mitigated  instance  of  oppression 
in  this  Christian  country. 

The  religious  public  of  this  city  appear  to  be  doing 
nothing  collectively,  to  abolish  or  ameliorate  slavery,  and 
with  the  exception  of  “  Friends,”  and  the  body  who  have 
lately  seceded  from  them,  I  fear  that  all  are  more  or  less 

*  See  Appendix  D. 


BALTIMORE. 


45 


implicated  in  its  actual  guilt.  I  was  informed  not  long 
since,  even  the  Roman  Catholics,  who  are  more  free  from 
the  contamination  than  many  other  religious  bodies,  had, 
in  some  part  of  the  State,  sold  several  of  their  own  church 
members,  and  applied  the  proceeds  to  the  erection  of  a 
place  of  worship.  We  called  upon  the  Roman  Catholic 
Bishop  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  this,  but  he  was  from 
home.  When  at  Philadelphia  afterwards,  in  conversation 
with  a  priest,  I  gave  the  particulars,  and  said  I  should  be 
glad  to  be  furnished  with  the  means  of  contradicting  it.  I 
have  not  heard  from  him  since. 

I  am  informed  that  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  “  Friends” 
has  advised  its  members  not  to  unite  with  the  anti-slavery 
societies,  and  has  latterly  discontinued  petitioning  the 
legislature  for  the  abolition  of  the  internal  slave  trade,  and 
the  amelioration  of  the  slave  code ;  such  is  the  prevailing 
influence  of  a  pro-slavery  atmosphere.  The  code  in 
question  has  of  late  years  been  rendered  more  severe,  and 
the  legal  emancipation  of  slaves  more  difficult ;  yet  I  was 
pleased  to  learn  that  public  opinion  has  in  this  respect 
counteracted  legislative  tyranny ;  that  slavery  has  in  fact 
become  milder,  and  the  number  of  manumissions  has  not 
lessened. 

The  mischievous  influence  of  the  Colonization  Society 
is  very  extensive  among  professing  Christians  in  Baltimore, 
and  is  paramount  in  the  legislature  of  the  State. 

The  American  slave  trade  is  carried  on  in  the  most 
open  manner  in  this  city.  We  paid  a  visit  to  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  an  extensive  slave  dealer,  a  large  new 
building  in  one  of  the  principal  streets.  The  proprietor 
received  us  with  great  courtesy,  and  permitted  us  to  inspect 
the  premises.  Cleanliness  and  order  were  every  where 


46 


SLAVE  DEPOT  AT  BALTIMORE. 


visible,  and,  might  we  judge  from  the  specimens  of  food 
shewn  us,  the  animal  wants  of  the  slaves  are  not  neglected. 
There  were  only  five  or  six  negroes  in  stock ,  but  the 
proprietor  told  us  he  had  sometimes  three  or  four  hundred 
there,  and  had  shipped  off  a  cargo  to  New  Orleans  a  few 
days  before.  That  city  is  the  market  where  the  highest 
price  is  generally  obtained  for  them.  The  premises  are 
strongly  secured  with  bolts  and  bars,  and  the  rooms  in 
which  the  negroes  are  confined,  surround  an  open  court 
yard,  where  they  are  permitted  to  take  the  air.  We  were 
accompanied  and  kindly  introduced  by  an  individual  who 
has  often  been  engaged  in  preventing  negroes  from  being 
illegally  enslaved  ;  and  the  proprietor  of  the  establishment 
expressed  his  approval  of  his  efforts,  and  that  when  such 
cases  come  before  himself  in  the  way  of  trade,  he  was 
accustomed  to  send  them  to  our  friend  for  investigation  ; 
he  added  that  slaves  would  often  come  to  him,  and  ask 
him  to  purchase  them,  and  that  he  was  the  means  of 
transferring  them  from  worse  masters  to  better ;  that  he 
never  parted  families,  though  of  course  he  could  not  con¬ 
trol  their  fate,  either  before  they  came  into  his  hands,  or 
after  they  left  him.  He  said  he  frequently  left  his  concerns 
for  weeks  together,  under  the  care  of  his  head  slave, 
whose  wife  he  had  made  free,  and  promised  the  same  boon 
to  him,  if  he  conducted  himself  well  a  few  years  longer.  I 
thought  it  right  to  intimate  my  view  of  the  nature  of 
slavery  and  the  slave  trade,  and  that  1  deemed  it  wholly 
inconsistent  with  the  plain  precept  “  do  unto  others  as  ye 
would  they  should  do  unto  you.”  This  he  did  not 
attempt  to  controvert,  yet  he  stated  in  extenuation,  that 
the  law  permitted  the  trade  in  slaves,  though  he  should  be 
as  willing  as  any  one  to  have  the  system  abolished,  if  the 


LETTER  TO  A  SLAVE  TRADER. 


47 


State  would  grant  them  compensation  for  their  property. 
He  farther  said,  that  he  was  born  in  a  slave  State,  that  his 
mother  had  been  for  fifty  years  a  member  of  the  Wesleyan 
body,  and  that  though  he  had  not  joined  a  Christian 
church  himself,  he  had  never  sworn  an  oath,  nor  committed 
an  immoral  act  in  his  life.  He  also  shewed,  I  think,  con¬ 
vincingly,  that  dealing  in  slaves  was  not  worse  than  slave 
holding.  On  leaving  the  premises,  we  found  the  door  of 
his  office  had  been  locked  upon  us  during  this  conference. 
I  subsequently  learned  that  this  person,  though  living  in 
considerable  style,  was  not  generally  received  in  respectable 
society,  and  that  a  lady  whom  he  had  lately  married,  was 
shunned  by  her  former  acquaintance.  Such  is  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  the  slave-holders  of  Baltimore  against  slave 
dealing,  by  which  they  condemn  themselves  in  the  sight 
of  God  and  man,  and  add  the  guilt  of  hypocrisy  to  their 
own  sin.  Some  time  afterwards  I  addressed  the  following 
letter  to  this  individual,  which  was  published  in  many  of 
the  American  papers : 

“To  Hope  H.  Slaughter,  Slave  Trader ,  Baltimore: 

“  Since  thou  courteously  allowed  me,  in  company  with 
my  friend,  J.  G.  Whittier,  to  visit  thy  slave  establishment 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  some  weeks  since,  I  have  often 
felt  a  desire  to  address  a  few  lines  to  thee.  I  need  not, 
perhaps,  say  that  my  feelings  were  painfully  exercised  in 
looking  over  thy  buildings,  fitted  up  with  bolts  and  bars, 
for  the  reception  of  human  beings  for  sale.  A  sense  of 
the  misery  and  suffering  of  the  unfortunate  slaves,  who 
have  been  from  time  to  time  confined  there  —  of  their 
separation  from  home  and  kindred  —  and  of  the  dreary 
prospect  before  them  of  a  life  of  unrequited  toil  in  the 


48 


LETTER  TO  A  SLAVE  TRADER. 


South  and  South  West  —  rested  heavily  upon  me.  I 
could  there  realize  the  true  nature  of  the  system  of 
slavery.  1  was  in  a  market-house  for  human  flesh,  where 
humanity  is  degraded  to  a  level  with  the  brute  ;  and  where 
children  of  our  common  Father  in  Heaven,  and  for  whom 
our  blessed  Redeemer  offered  up  the  atoning  sacrifice  of 
his  blood,  were  bargained  for  and  sold  like  beasts  that 
perish.  And  when  I  regarded  thee  as  the  merchant  in 
this  dreadful  traffic,  and  heard  thee  offer  remarks,  which 
might  in  some  degree  be  considered  as  an  apology  for  thy 
business,  calling  our  attention  to  the  cleanly  state  of  the 
apartments,  the  wholesome  provisions,  et  cet.;  and  espe¬ 
cially  when  I  heard  thee  declare  that  thou  hadst  been 
educated  by  a  pious  mother  —  that  thou  wast  never 
addicted  to  swearing  or  other  immoralities  —  and  that 
thy  business  was  a  legalized  one  —  that  thou  didst 
nothing  contrary  to  law  —  and  that,  while  in  thy  posses¬ 
sion,  the  poor  creatures  were  treated  kindly  —  that  families 
were  not  separated,*  et  cet.,  —  I  was  glad  to  perceive 

*  “  The  latter  remark,  of  course,  applies  only  to  the  time  they 
remained  with  thee.  For,  on  the  day  we  visited  thy  establishment, 
a  friend  with  whom  I  was  dining  informed  me,  that  a  few  days 
before  a  woman  and  child  had  been  sold  to  thee,  whose  husband 
and  father  was  a  free  man,  who,  in  his  distress,  had  been  offering  to 
bind  himself  for  a  term  of  years,  in  order  to  raise  the  sum  (I  think 
$800)  demanded  for  them  ;  but,  as  he  had  been  unable  to  do  so,  my 
friend  had  no  doubt  they  had  been  sent  off  with  the  very  lot  of  slaves, 
which,  we  were  told  by  thyself  had  just  been  forwarded  to  New 
Orleans  from  thy  prison.  Who  is  most  guilty  in  this  atrocious 
transaction  —  the  slave  owner,  who  sold  thee  the  woman  and  child 
at  Baltimore  —  thou,  the  transporter  of  them  for  ever  from  their 
husband  and  parent  —  the  purchasers  of  the  mother  and  child  at 
New  Orleans,  where  they  may  be  for  ever  separated  from  each 
other  —  or  the  citizen  who,  by  his  vote  and  influence,  creates  and 
upholds  enactments  which  legalize  this  monstrous  system,  is  known 
only  to  Him  before  whom  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  are  unfolded.” 


LETTER  TO  A  SLAVE  TRADER. 


49 


some  evidence  that  the  nature  of  thy  employment  had 
not  extinguished  the  voice  of  conscience  within  thee.  In 
thy  sentiments,  and  in  the  manner  of  their  utterance,  I 
thought  I  could  see  that  truth  had  not  left  itself  without  a 
witness  in  thy  breast,  and  that  a  sense  of  the  wrongfulness 
of  thy  occupation  still  disturbed  thee. 

“  To  thy  remark  that  thy  business  was  necessary  to 
the  system  of  slavery,  and  an  essential  part  of  it  —  and  if 
sla ve-holding  were  to  be  justified  at  all,  the  slave-trade 
must  be  also — I  certainly  can  offer  no  valid  objection;  for 
I  have  never  been  able  to  discover  any  moral  difference 
between  the  planter  of  Virginia  and  the  slave  dealer  of 
Baltimore,  Richmond  and  Washington.  Each  has  his 
part  to  act  in  the  system,  and  each  is  necessary  to  the 
other.  And  if  the  matter  were  not,  in  all  its  bearings, 
painfully  serious,  it  would  be  amusing  to  witness  the 
absurd  contempt  with  which  the  slave  owner  of  Maryland 
or  Virginia  professes  to  look  upon  the  trader,  whose  pur¬ 
chase  of  his  surplus  slaves  alone  enables  him  to  retain  the 
residue  in  his  possession ;  for  it  seems  very  evident  that 
the  only  profitable  part  of  the  system  in  those  States,  at 
the  present  time,  is  the  sale  of  the  annual  increase  of  the 
slaves. 

“  In  passing  from  thy  premises,  we  looked  in  upon  the 
Triennial  Convention  of  the  Baptists  of  the  United  States, 
then  in  session  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  where  I  found 
slave-holding  ministers  of  high  rank  in  the  church,  urging 
successfully  the  exclusion  from  the  Missionary  Board  of 
that  Society,  of  all  those  who,  in  principle  and  practice, 
were  known  to  be  decided  abolitionists ;  and  the  results  of 
their  efforts  satisfied  me  that  the  darkest  picture  of  slavery 
is  not  to  be  found  in  the  jail  of  the  slave-trader,  but  rather 
5 


50 


BAPTIST  MISSIONARY  CONVENTION. 


in  a  convocation  of  professed  ministers  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  expelling  from  the  Board  of  a  Society  formed  to 
enlighten  the  heathen  of  other  nations,  all  who  consistently 
labor  for  the  overthrow  of  a  system  which  denies  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  near  three  millions  of 
heathen  at  home ! 

“  But  allow  me,  in  a  spirit,  as  I  trust,  of  Christian 
kindness,  to  entreat  thee  not  to  seek  excuses  for  thy  own 
course  in  the  evil  conduct  of  others.  Thou  hast  already 
reached  the  middle  period  of  life  —  the  future  is  uncertain. 
By  thy  hopes  of  peace  here  and  hereafter,  let  me  urge 
thee  to  abandon  this  occupation.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
argue  its  intrinsic  wickedness,  for  thou  knowest  it  already. 
I  would  therefore  beseech  thee  to  listen  to  that  voice 
which,  I  am  persuaded,  sometimes  urges  thee  to  ‘  put 
away  the  evil  of  thy  doings/  to  ‘  do  justice  and  love 
mercy/  and  thus  cease  to  draw  upon  thyself  the  curse 
which  fell  upon  those  merchants  of  Tyre,  who  1  traded  in 
the  persons  of  men/  That  these  warnings  of  conscience 
may  not  longer  be  neglected  on  thy  part,  is  the  sincere 
wish  of  one  who,  while  he  abhors  thy  occcupation,  feels 
nothing  but  kindness  and  good  will  towards  thyself. 

“  Thy  friend, 

“  Joseph  Sturge. 

“  New  York ,  6th  Month  'SOth,  1841.” 

The  Baptist  Convention  alluded  to  in  the  foregoing 
letter  was  one  whose  proceedings  I  regarded  with  consid¬ 
erable  interest,  for  it  had  been  generally  understood  that 
the  ministers  delegated  from  the  South,  as  well  as  some  of 
those  from  the  Northern  States,  intended  to  exclude  aboli¬ 
tionists  from  every  office  on  the  missionary  board,  and 


BAPTIST  MISSIONARY  CONVENTION. 


51 


especially  to  remove  my  friend,  Elon  Galusha,  a  distin¬ 
guished  Baptist  minister,  from  the  station  of  vice-president, 
for  the  offence  of  attending  the  London  Anti-Slavery 
Convention,  and  more  particularly  for  supporting  the 
following  resolutions  of  that  assembly  : 

“  1.  That  it  is  the  deliberate  and  deeply-rooted  convic¬ 
tion  of  this  Convention,  which  it  thus  publicly  and  solemnly 
expresses  to  the  world,  that  slavery,  in  whatever  form,  or  in 
whatever  country  it  exists,  is  contrary  to  the  eternal  and 
immutable  principles  of  justice,  and  the  spirit  and  precepts 
of  Christianity ;  and  is,  therefore  a  sin  against  God,  which 
acquires  additional  enormity  when  committed  by  nations 
professedly  Christian,  and  in  an  age  when  the  subject  has 
been  so  generally  discussed,  and  its  criminality  so  thor¬ 
oughly  exposed. 

“  2.  That  this  Convention  cannot  but  deeply  deplore 
the  fact,  that  the  continuance  and  prevalence  of  slavery 
are  to  be  attributed  in  a  great  degree  to  the  countenance 
afforded  by  many  Christian  churches,  especially  in  the 
Western  world,  which  have  not  only  withheld  that  public 
and  emphatic  testimony  against  the  crime  which  it 
deserves,  but  have  retained  in  their  communion,  without 
censure,  those  by  whom  it  is  notoriously  perpetrated. 

“3.  That  this  Convention,  while  it  disclaims  the 
intention  or  desire  of  dictating  to  Christian  communities 
the  terms  of  their  fellowship,  respectfully  submits  that  it  is 
their  incumbent  duty  to  separate  from  their  communion 
all  those  persons  who,  after  they  have  been  faithfully 
warned  in  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  continue  in  the  sin  of 
enslaving  their  fellow-creatures,  or  holding  them  in  slavery 
—a  sin,  by  the  commission  of  which,  with  whatever 


52 


BAPTIST  MISSIONARY  CONVENTION. 


mitigating  circumstances  it  may  be  attended  in  their  own 
particular  instance,  they  give  the  support  of  their  example 
to  the  whole  system  of  compulsory  servitude,  and  the 
unutterable  horrors  of  the  slave  trade. 

“4.  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  Committee  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  in  the  name 
of  this  Convention,  to  furnish  copies  of  the  above 
resolutions  to  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  the  various 
Christian  churches  throughout  the  world.” 

On  entering  the  meeting,  we  found  the  question  was 
already  before  them,  previous  to  balloting  for  the  officers 
for  the  ensuing  three  years.  The  pro-slavery  party  were 
anxious  to  prevent  all  discussion,  but  some  on  the  other 
side  proposed  questions  which  compelled  their  notice. 
Among  the  rest  it  was  plainly  asked,  if  the  southern 
delegates  did  not  come  pledged  against  the  re-election  of 
Elon  Galusha.  This  was  denied,  but  certain  resolutions 
which  had  appeared  in  the  public  papers  were  appealed 
to  in  proof  of  the  fact.  The  inquiry  becoming  more 
searching,  an  expedient  was  resorted  to,  which,  though 
quite  novel  to  me,  was,  I  am  told,  not  un frequently  adopted 
when  discussions  assume  a  shape  not  quite  satisfactory  to 
the  controlling  powers  of  a  synod.  It  was  proposed  that 
they  should  pray,  and  then  proceed  at  once  to  the  ballot. 
The  ministers  called  upon  were  R.  Fuller  and  Elon 
Galusha,  who  were  considered  to  represent  the  opposite 
sides  of  the  discussion.  The  former  individual  is  a  large 
slave-holder,  an  influential  leader  in  his  denomination,  and 
had  canvassed  and  condemned  Elon  Galusha’s  views  and 
conduct  in  the  public  newspapers.  I  must  avow,  this 
whole  proceeding  was  little  calculated  to  remove  my 


WILMINGTON. 


53 


objection  to  the  practice  of  calling  upon  any  individual  to 
offer  supplication  in  a  public  assembly.  After  prayer  had 
been  offered,  they  proceeded  to  the  ballot,  and  we  left 
the  meeting,  deeply  impressed  with  the  profanation  of 
employing  the  most  solemn  act  of  devotion  to  serve  the 
exigencies  of  controversy. 

In  the  evening  I  met  a  number  of  the  anti-slavery 
members  of  the  Convention,  from  whom  I  learned  that 
the  vote  had  excluded  Elon  Galusha  and  all  other  known 
abolitionists  from  official  connection  with  the  board,  by  an 
hundred  and  twenty-four  to  an  hundred  and  seventeen, 
which  being  a  much  smaller  majority  than  was  expected, 
they  considered  the  result  a  triumph  rather  than  a  defeat. 

On  the  1st  of  the  5th  Month,  (May)  we  returned  to 
Wilmington,  in  Delaware,  where  we  remained  at  the 
hospitable  residence  of  our  friend  Samuel  Hilles,  till  the 
3d  instant,  and  met  a  number  of  “  Friends,”  and  others, 
who  treated  us  with  great  kindness  and  hospitality.  I 
inspected  one  of  the  flour  mills  on  the  Brandywine  river, 
and  the  process  of  drying  Indian  corn  before  it  is  ground ; 
these  are  some  of  the  oldest  flour  mills  in  the  State.  A 
large  peach  orchard  of  one  of  my  friends  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood,  was  beautifully  in  bloom.  Great  quantities  of  this 
delicious  fruit  are  raised  in  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  and 
Maryland.  Here,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  States,  much 
money  has  been  lost  by  a  silk,  or  rather  mulberry  tree, 
mania.  Young  mulberry  trees  rose  to  a  dollar  and  a 
quarter  each,  though  they  can  be  multiplied  almost  without 
limit  in  a  single  year.  As  might  have  been  expected,  a 
re-action  took  place,  many  parties  were  ruined,  and  mul¬ 
berry  trees  may  now  be  had  for  the  trouble  of  digging 
them  up. 


5* 


54 


PHILADELPHIA. 


The  number  of  slaves  in  this  small  State  is  now 
reduced  to  four  or  five  thousand,  and  from  all  the  informa¬ 
tion  I  could  collect,  I  feel  convinced  that  if  those  who  are 
friendly  to  emancipation  were  to  exert  themselves,  they 
would  succeed,  without  much  difficulty,  in  procuring  the 
abolition  of  slavery  within  its  limits. 

My  friend,  John  G.  Whittier,  being,  from  increase  of 
indisposition,  unable  to  go  forward,  1  left  Wilmington 
alone,  and  arrived  in  New  York  in  time  to  be  present  at 
a  Baptist  Anti-Slavery  Convention,  which  I  had  been 
invited  to  attend,  and  at  which  I  was  called  upon  to  make 
a  few  observations  on  the  present  state  of  the  question. 
Several  important  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted, 
containing  a  cordial  approval  of  the  principles  of  proceed¬ 
ing  of  the  London  Convention,  a  recommendation  that 
another  Convention  should  be  held  at  the  same  place  in 
1842,  and  an  assurance  that  exertions  should  be  used  to 
promote  a  good  delegation  from  the  Baptist  anti-slavery 
body. 

On  that  respecting  Christian  fellowship  with  slave¬ 
holding  churches,  Dr.  Brisbane  spoke  in  a  touching 
manner,  and  said  he  must  support  it,  though  his  friends 
and  relations  were  in  the  South,  and  some  of  those  dear¬ 
est  to  him  still  countenanced  slavery,  or  were  themselves 
slave-holders. 

On  the  6th  I  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  that  even¬ 
ing  attended,  by  invitation,  a  meeting  of  the  Juvenile 
Anti-Slavery  Society,  but  took  no  part  in  the  proceedings. 
This  Society  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  in  the  State ;  it  is 
entirely  confined  to  young  men.  I  also  received  a  formal 
invitation  to  attend  other  meetings  about  to  be  held,  which 
I  felt  under  the  necessity  of  declining,  from  a  belief  that  I 


PHILADELPHIA. 


55 


could  not  participate  in  the  discussions  of  the  meetings 
with  advantage  to  the  cause  which  we  all  had  at  heart, 
and  from  the  fact  that  previous  to  receiving  the  invitation 
I  had  made  other  arrangements  which  would  occupy  most 
of  my  time. 

The  present  organized  anti-slavery  societies  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania  insist  upon  the  mixed  action  of  men  and  women 
in  committees,  et  cet.  Those  who  do  not  hold  with  their 
views  have  either  silently  withdrawn,  avoid  participating 
in  measures  which  they  disapprove,  or  do  not  attend 
meetings  when  it  is  expected  any  such  measures  will  be 
brought  forward.  Among  such  measures  may  be  reckoned 
the  censures  which  in  a  few  instances  have  been  passed 
on  the  London  Convention,  and  the  British  and  Foreign 
Anti-Slavery  Society ;  censures  sometimes  more  decided 
in  sentiment  than  temperate  in  expression.  My  own 
inclination  would  have  led  me  to  attend  several  of  these 
meetings,  when  my  other  engagements  would  have  per¬ 
mitted,  if  I  could  have  done  so  as  an  ordinary  spectator 
and  hearer ;  but  on  considering  that  I  might  appear  on  the 
one  hand  to  give  a  tacit  sanction  to  acts  and  sentiments 
which  I  disapproved,  or  on  the  other  hand,  that  I  might 
be  drawn  into  controversy  by  explaining  my  objections,  I 
concluded  to  forego  the  gratification  which  the  proceedings 
might  have  afforded  me,  and  I  subsequently  saw  no  reason 
to  repent  the  decision  I  came  to. 

During  this  visit  to  Philadelphia,  I  made  calls  upon 
various  individuals  who  are  deeply  interested  in  the  anti¬ 
slavery  cause,  but  who  have  not  joined  any  anti-slavery 
society.  Among  these  I  must  instance  Professor  Charles 
D.  Cleveland,  an  excellent  individual,  of  the  Presbyterian 
persuasion,  a  man  of  fine  talents  and  an  accomplished 


56 


PHILADELPHIA. 


scholar,  who  is  the  editor  of  a  paper  called  the  American 
Intelligencer,  in  which  he  has  reprinted  a  very  large  edition 
of  J.  J.  Gurney’s  “  Letters  from  the  West  Indies,”  and 
has  extensively  distributed  it  through  the  post  office.  This 
effort  of  judicious  zeal,  will  probably  make  hundreds  of 
emancipationists,  and  disarm  hostility  and  rouse  indifference 
to  a  great  extent.  No  impartial  and  benevolent  mind  can 
read  these  authentic  details  of  the  results  of  emancipation 
in  the  British  Colonies,  and  remain  unconvinced  of  its 
safety  and  blessed  fruits  to  every  class  of  the  community. 
The  Professor  has  published  and  circulated  Dr.  Channing’s 
“  Emancipation,”  in  the  same  shape.  I  also  called  upon 
the  late  Governor  of  Illinois,  Edward  Coles,  who  was  born 
in  a  slave  State,  but  in  early  life,  while  at  college,  from  a 
conviction  of  the  sinfulness  of  slave-holding,  he  resolved 
upon  liberating  the  negroes  which  would  come  into  his 
possession  on  the  death  of  his  father.  This  he  faithfully 
performed,  removed  the  people  to  Illinois,  and  presented 
them  with  lands  for  their  subsistence.  He  himself  soon 
removed  there  and  became  Governor  of  the  territory.  It 
was  owing  to  his  determined  and  vigorous  efforts  that 
slavery  was  made  unconstitutional  in  that  State.  He  was 
a  friend  of  President  Jefferson,  and  corresponded  with  him 
on  the  subject  of  slavery.  All  his  liberated  slaves  pros¬ 
pered,  all  learned  to  read  and  write,  two  are  now  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  and  one  is  the  Governor’s  agent,  and  a  man 
of  property.  The  number  thus  freed  were  between  thirty 
and  forty,  and  their  value  amounted  to  half  his  property ; 
but  a  blessing  has  followed  the  sacrifice,  and  he  has  now 
retired  to  Philadelphia  with  a  handsome  competence.  In 
the  course  of  conversation,  the  Governor  spoke  of  the 
prejudice  against  color  prevailing  here  as  much  stronger 


PENNSYLVANIA  HALL. 


57 


than  in  the  slave  States.  I  may  add,  from  my  own 
observation,  and  much  concurring  testimony,  that  Phila¬ 
delphia  appears  to  be  the  metropolis  of  this  odious 
prejudice,  and  that  there  is  probably  no  city  in  the  known 
world,  where  dislike,  amounting  to  hatred  of  the  colored 
population,  prevails  more  than  in  the  city  of  brotherly 
love  ! 

Among  the  proofs  of  this,  and  of  the  same  feeling  in 
the  State  at  large,  it  may  be  noticed  that  two  or  three 
years  since  a  convention  was  called  for  amending  the  State 
constitution,  which  among  other  changes,  formally  deprived 
men  of  color  of  the  elective  franchise.  Practically  this 
was  of  little  importance,  for  it  was  taking  away  a  right,  the 
exercise  of  which,  if  attempted,  would  have  roused  popular 
indignation  to  the  peril  of  their  lives.  A  yet  more  obvious 
sign  to  the  stranger  in  Philadelphia,  are  the  ruins  of 
“  Pennsylvania  Hall,”  which  most  of  my  readers  are 
probably  aware  was  destroyed  by  a  pro-slavery  mob  in  the 
spring  of  1838.  It  stood  near  the  centre  of  the  city,  and 
was  sixty- two  feet  front  by  one  hundred  deep,  and  fifty- 
two  feet  to  the  eaves  :  the  large  saloon  in  the  second  story 
with  its  galleries  being  capable  of  holding  three  thousand 
persons.  On  the  occasion  of  its  opening,  a  large  number 
of  the  friends  of  emancipation  assembled  in  the  city,  to 
attend  the  anniversary  of  the  Pennsylvania  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  and  some  other  meetings  connected  with  the 
cause.  Letters  of  congratulation  on  the  opening  of  the 
hall  were  received  by  the  managers  from  ex-president 
Adams,  William  Slade  and  Francis  James,  members  of 
Congress,  Thomas  Morris  of  the  U.  S.  Senate,  Judge  Jay, 
Gerritt  Smith,  and  other  distinguished  friends  of  equal 
rights.  The  letter  of  the  venerable  ex -president  is  written 


58 


PENNSYLVANIA  HALL. 


with  his  characteristic  energy,  and  I  quote  an  extract  from 
it  in  further  proof  of  the  sentiments  already  expressed  on 
the  state  of  feeling  in  the  land  of  Penn  and  Benezet, 
Pemberton  and  Franklin,  on  the  subject  of  slavery. 

“The  right  of  discussion  upon  slavery,  and  an  indefi¬ 
nite  extent  of  topics  connected  with  it,  is  banished  from 
one-half  the  States  of  this  Union.  It  is  suspended,  in 
both  houses  of  Congress ;  opened  and  closed  at  the  plea¬ 
sure  of  the  slave  representation  ;  opened  for  the  promulga¬ 
tion  of  nullification  sophistry;  closed  against  the  question, 
What  is  slavery  ?  at  the  sound  of  which  the  walls  of  the 
capitol  staggered  like  a  drunken  man. 

“  For  this  suppression  of  the  freedom  of  speech  and 
press,  and  the  right  of  petition,  the  people  of  the  free 
States  of  this  Union  are  responsible,  and  the  people  of 
Pennsylvania  most  of  all.  Of  this  responsibility,  I  say  it 
with  a  pang,  sharper  than  language  can  express,  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  must  take  herself  the  largest  share” 

The  meetings  of  the  first  day  passed  without  disturb¬ 
ance.  On  the  evening  of  the  second  day,  a  meeting  of 
the  Female  Anti-Slavery  Society  was  held  in  the  hall,  the 
proceedings  of  which  were  greatly  disturbed  by  a  mob  of 
from  1500  to  2000  persons,  assembled  without.  The 
windows  on  all  sides  were  beaten  in  by  stones  and  other 
missiles,  and  one  or  two  persons  severely  injured.  The 
next  day  the  mob  lingered  about  the  building,  no  effort 
being  made  by  the  pro-slavery  authorities  to  disperse 
them.  In  the  evening  the  building  was  attacked,  the 
doors  burst  open,  and  fire  communicated  to  the  interior ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  at  least  20,000  persons,  the  noble  and 
costly  hall  was  consumed,  with  the  exception  of  its  bare 
walls.  My  friend  John  G.  Whittier,  who  was  present  at 


PENNSYLVANIA  HALL. 


59 


the  time,  states  that  the  most  dreadful  threats  were  uttered 
by  the  rioters  against  the  prominent  abolitionists.  The 
house  of  Samuel  Webb  was  particularly  marked  for  de¬ 
struction  ;  and  as  the  mob  assembled  nightly  for  several 
days,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  a  more  trying  situ¬ 
ation  than  that  in  which  the  abolitionists  were  placed. 
The  “  Friends”  asylum  for  colored  orphans,  a  small  but 
useful  institution,  was  attacked  by  a  portion  of  the  mob, 
and  the  next  day  the  association  to  which  it  belongs  pub¬ 
licly  disclaimed  any  connection  with  the  abolition  societies. 
One  of  the  daily  papers  also  contained  the  following, 
headed  “  Communication.” 

“An  opinion  having  become  prevalent  that  a  consider¬ 
able  number  of  the  society  of  Orthodox  Friends  were 
present  at  the  late  meetings  in  Pennsylvania  Hall,  taking 
an  active  part  in  the  proceedings,  and  that  they  still  up¬ 
hold  the  principles  in  relation  to  slavery  and  the  colored 
race  there  promulgated,  it  is  but  justice  to  this  respectable 
body  of  people  to  correct  public  opinion  in  relation  to  the 
subject,  by  observing  that  very  few  if  any  attended  the 
meetings ;  that  among  the  society  it  is  doubtful  whether 
twenty  individuals  are  to  be  found  in  this  city  who  em¬ 
brace  their  doctrines,  and  that  they,  as  a  body,  are  opposed 
to  the  indiscreet  course  which  has  been  taken  by  the  ultra 
abolitionists.  Had  their  views  been  understood  in  relation 
to  the  subject,  their  property  in  Thirteenth  street  would, 
no  doubt,  have  been  spared  the  violence  it  has  suffered, 
being  in  no  way  connected  with  abolitionism,  but  merely 
designed  as  a  shelter  for  an  unfortunate  class  of  children 
who  have  large  claims  upon  the  community ;  and  who, 
upon  application  made  in  their  behalf  for  the  purposes  for 
which  this  asylum  was  designed,  even  to  the  mob ,  I  have 


60 


PENNSYLVANIA  HALL. 


no  hesitation  in  saying  that,  as  human  beings ,  they  would 
not  oppose  it.” 

While  other  portions  of  the  community  were  in  like 
manner  propitiating  the  mob,  the  few  but  faithful  aboli¬ 
tionists  of  the  city  calmly  but  firmly  maintained  their  prin¬ 
ciples,  even  at  the  peril  of  life  and  estate.  On  the  morn¬ 
ing  after  the  burning  of  the  Hall,  the  State  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  pursuant  to  adjournment,  met  at  the  ruins  of  the 
Hall,  and,  amidst  the  smoking  walls,  and  with  the  mob 
lingering  about  them,  they  proceeded  to  their  business  — 
Abraham  L.  Pennock,  the  Vice  President  of  the  Society, 
presiding.  The  editor  of  the  Pennsylvania  Freeman, 
John  G.  Whittier,  whose  publication  office  and  papers 
had  been  destroyed  by  the  mob,  in  his  next  paper  pub¬ 
lished  the  following  editorial  article,  which  I  have  copied 
simply  to  show  that  while  the  abolitionists  on  this  occasion 
maintained  their  sentiments  in  a  clear  and  -unequivocal 
manner,  they  did  not  indulge  in  the  language  of  revenge 
or  anger. 

“We  perhaps  need  offer  no  apology  to  our  distant 
readers,  for  the  want  of  variety  in  our  present  number. 
Ours  must  be  this  week  a  record  of  violence  —  a  story  of 
persecution  and  outrage.  We  hardly  dare  trust  ourselves 
to  speak  upon  this  matter.  It  is  our  desire  to  do  so,  if  at 
all,  in  a  tone  of  calmness,  —  to  hold  ourselves  aloof,  as  far 
as  possible,  from  the  present  excitement,  —  to  utter  our 
abiding  testimony,  now  dearer  than  ever  to  our  hearts,  not 
in  the  language  of  passion,  but  firmly  and  decidedly. 

“  Our  readers  will  gather  from  the  statements  made  in 
the  different  extracts  in  our  paper,  and  especially  from  the 
Address  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  State  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  the  leading  facts  of  the  outrage.  Of  the 


PENNSYLVANIA  HALL. 


61 


course  pursued  by  the  civil  authorities,  vve  leave  the  com¬ 
munity  to  judge.  Our  own  reliance  for  protection  has 
been  upon  that  Providence  whose  mercy  is  over  all,  —  in 
the  justice  of  our  cause,  and  in  our  conscious  innocence 
of  heart  and  integrity  of  purpose.  We  rejoice,  and  in  so 
doing,  the  abolitionists  of  Pennsylvania  unite  with  us,  that 
human  life  was  not  sacrificed  in  defence  of  our  Hall,  our 
persons,  and  our  property.  We  know,  indeed,  that  had 
the  attack  been  made  upon  the  United  States  Bank,  or 
any  similar  institution  in  this  city,  the  civil  authorities 
would  have  met  its  fury,  not  as  now,  with  a  speech  only, 
but  with  loaded  firelocks  and  fixed  bayonets.  We  know, 
it  is  true,  that  the  mob  were  in  a  great  measure  left  free 
to  work  their  mischievous  will  upon  us.  But  if  those  in 
authority  have,  upon  their  own  principles,  treated  us  with 
neglect  in  the  hour  of  our  peril,  upon  them  let  the 
responsibility  rest.  We  have  thus  far  survived  the  onset. 
Under  God,  for  to  him  alone  are  we  indebted  for  protection, 
we  are  still  left  to  bear  our  testimony  to  the  truth.  Our 
consciences  are  in  this  matter  void  of  offence.  In  cheer¬ 
ful  serenity  of  spirit,  and  not  in  the  tone  of  menace  or 
boasting,  we  declare  our  faith  in  the  principles  of 
emancipation  unfaltering  —  our  zeal  undiminished — our 
determination  to  persevere  unaltered.  Our  confidence  in 
the  triumphant  and  glorious  issue  of  the  present  struggle 
remains  firm. 

‘  Truth  smote  to  Earth  revives  again ; 

The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers  — 

But  error  wounded,  shrieks  with  pain, 

And  dies  among  her  worshippers.’ 

“From  this  time  henceforward,  Pennsylvania  must 
become  the  great  battle-field  of  opinion  on  the  subject  of 
6 


62 


PENNSYLVANIA  HALL. 


slavery.  The  light  of  that  evening’s  sacrifice  has  reached 
already  every  portion  of  our  State.  Men  are  every 
where  inquiring  why  the  sacrifice  was  made?  Why  a 
mighty  city  was  convulsed  with  violence?  Why  a  noble 
hall  was  burned  by  incendiaries  in  the  view  of  gazing 
thousands?  Why  the  1  shelter  for  orphan  children  5  was 
set  on  fire,  and  why  the  houses  of  our  citizens  were 
surrounded  by  a  ruffian  mob  ?  They  may  be  told  now  by 
the  perpetrators  of  these  outrages,  that  all  has  been 
occasioned  by  the  conduct  of  the  abolitionists.  But  the 
delusion  cannot  last.  Truth  will  make  its  way  to  the 
abused  ear  of  the  community ;  and  it  will  be  known  that 
the  scenes  which  have  disgraced  our  city,  are  directly 
attributable  to  the  influence  of  southern  slavery.  The 
spirit  of  free  inquiry,  now  fairly  awakened,  will  never  again 
slumber  in  this  state.  Like  the  Greek  fire,  it  will  blaze 
with  fiercer  intensity  for  every  attempt  to  extinguish  it.” 

The  proceedings  of  the  authorities  and  the  public  at 
large,  consequent  upon  this  act  of  incendiarism  and 
outrageous  violence,  were  truly  characteristic.  It  is 
supposed  that  the  destruction  of  the  Hall  was  planned 
beforehand,  and  there  is  some  evidence  to  show  that 
strangers  from  the  South  were  implicated  in  the  conspiracy; 
but,  as  usual,  the  old  drama  of  the  wolf  accusing  the 
lamb  was  enacted  over  again,  and  a  pretext  was  laid  hold 
of,  that,  in  the  peculiar  state  of  feeling  existing  in  the 
community,  was  almost  deemed  a  justification  of  all  that 
had  happened ;  though,  in  truth,  it  was  in  the  last  degree 
ridiculous.  It  was  asserted  that  colored  men  had  been 
seen  walking  arm  in  arm  with  white  ladies,  and  that  white 
men  had  handed  colored  females  out  of  their  carriages  at 
the  door  of  the  Hall,  as  politely  as  if  they  had  not 


PENNSYLVANIA  HALL. 


63 


belonged  to  the  proscribed  class.  In  several  instances,  if 
not  in  all,  these  reports  were  untrue  in  point  of  fact,  and 
originated  in  the  existing  paradox,  that  colored  men  and 
women  are  sometimes  white,  and  -that  white  gentlemen 
and  ladies  are  not  unfrequently  of  dark  complexion.  As 
an  illustration,  I  quote  the  following  scene  from  a  letter 
addressed  to  me  by  Robert  Purvis,  an  intelligent  and 
educated  man  of  color,  and  the  son-in-law  of  James 
Forten,  a  wealthy  and  venerable  colored  citizen  of  Phila¬ 
delphia,  recently  deceased. 

“  In  regard  to  my  examination  before  the  jury  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Hall  case,  I  have  to  say,  that  it  was  both  a 
painful  and  ludicrous  affair.  At  one  time  the  fulness  of 
an  almost  bursting  heart  w'as  ready  to  pour  forth  in  bitter 
denunciation  —  then  the  miserable  absurdity  of  the  thing, 
rushing  into  my  mind,  would  excite  my  risible  propensities. 
You  know  the  county  endeavored  to  defend  itself  against 
the  award  of  damages,  by  proving  that  the  abolitionists 
were  the  cause  of  the  destruction  of  the  building,  in 
promoting  promiscuous  intermingling,  in  doors  and  out,  of 
blacks  and  whites,  thereby  exciting  public  feeling,  &ic. 
A  witness,  whose  name  1  now  forget,  in  proof  of  this  point, 
stated,  that  upon  a  certain  day,  hour,  &c.,  a  e negress  ’ 
approached  the  Hall,  in  a  carriage,  when  a  white  man 
assisted  her  in  getting  out,  offered  his  arm,  which  was 
instantly  accepted,  and  he  escorted  her  to  the  saloon  of 
the  building  !  In  this  statement  he  was  collected,  careful, 
and  solemn  —  minutely  describing  the  dress,  appearance 
of  the  parties,  as  well  as  the  carriage,  the  exact  time,  &tc. 
—  the  clerks  appointed  for  the  purpose  taking  down  every 
word,  and  the  venerable  jurors  looking  credulous  and 
horror-stricken.  Upon  being  called  to  rebut  the  testimony 


64 


PENNSYLVANIA  HALL. 


I,  in  truth  and  simplicity,  confirmed  his  testimony  in  every 
particular ! !  The  attorney,  on  our  behalf,  David  Paul 
Brown,  Esq.,  a  gentleman,  scholar,  and  philanthropist,  in 
a  tone  of  irony  peculiarly  severe,  demanded,  6  whether  I 
had  the  unblushing  impudence,  in  broad  day-light,  to  offer 
my  arm  to  my  wife  ?’  I  replied,  in  deep  affectation  of  the 
criminality  involved,  that  the  only  palliation  I  could  offer, 
for  conduct  so  outrageous  was,  that  it  was  unwittingly 
done,  it  seemed  so  natural.  This,  as  you  might  well 
suppose,  produced  some  merriment  at  the  expense  of  the 
witness  for  the  county,  and  of  all  others,  whose  gullibility 
and  prejudice  had  given  credit  to  what  would  have  been 
considered,  had  I  been  what  is  called  a  white  man,  an 
awful  story.” 

The  proceedings  in  the  case  are,  I  believe,  still  pend¬ 
ing.  My  friend,  Samuel  Webb,  in  a  letter  dated  “11th 
Month  16th,  1841,”  says: 

“Last  7th  day,  after  several  years  incessant  struggle, 
we  brought  the  case  of  the  Pennsylvania  Hall  before  the 
Court  of  Criminal  Sessions.  George  M.  Dallas,  Counsel 
for  the  County,  in  opposing  the  award  of  the  appraisers, 
(thirty-three  thousand  dollars,  not  one-third  of  what  it 
ought  to  have  been,)  spoke  for  about  one  hour — the 
purport  of  his  speech  was  —  that  here  was  no  mob  at 
all,  (!)  that  the  jury  appointed  to  ascertain  the  facts  had 
reported  to  the  Court,  that  the  mob,  if  mob  it  might  be 
called,  was  composed  of  orderly,  respectable  citizens ; 
and  of  course,  orderly,  respectable  citizens  could  not  be 
a  mob.  After  this  1  should  not  be  surprised  to  hear 
it  doubted  whether  there  ever  was  such  a  building,  or  if 
there  was,  whether  it  was  ever  destroyed ;  but  unluckily 
the  ruined  walls  are  still  standing,  and  if  I  had  my  way, 


NEW  YORK  ANNIVERSARIES. 


65 


there  they  should  stand,  until  slavery  shall  be  abolished, 
which  it  will  be,  soon  after  your  East  India  possessions  can 
grow  cotton  for  six  cents  per  lb.  by  free  labor.” 

To  resume  the  narrative :  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  widow 
of  Joseph  Lancaster,  who,  with  her  three  children  by  a 
former  husband,  are  living  in  great  obscurity  in  the  sub¬ 
urbs  of  this  city. 

I  returned  to  New  York  on  the  10th,  for  the  purpose 
of  being  in  the  city  at  the  time  when  the  religious  and 
benevolent  anniversaries  are  held,  and  of  meeting  parties 
who  attend  them.  Here  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
with  several  warm-hearted  abolitionists  from  distant  parts 
of  the  country.  The  first  meeting  I  attended  was  the 
anniversary  of  the  American  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  which,  though  held  at  a  distance  from  the  centre 
of  the  city,  in  consequence  of  the  pre-engagement  of  the 
New  York  Tabernacle,  was  well  attended,  and  I  believe 
gave  general  satisfaction.  I  was  present  also  at  two  other 
of  its  meetings.  I  attended  several  adjourned  sittings  of  a 
convention  called  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  political 
“  Liberty  party,”  on  the  grand  principle  of  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  The  chief  business  in  hand  was  to  nominate  a 
President  and  Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  next  election,  and  the  choice  fell  upon  my  friend 
James  G.  Birney,  for  President,  and  Thomas  Morris,  late 
United  States  Senator  from  Ohio,  for  Vice  President.  A 
plan  was  arranged  for  putting  in  nomination  abolition 
candidates  for  every  office  in  the  free  States,  down  to  that 
of  constable. 

I  listened  to  the  discussions  that  took  place  with 
considerable  interest,  as  there  are  some  valuable  friends  to 
the  cause,  men,  whose  opinions  justly  carry  great  weight, 
6* 


66 


LIBERTY  PARTY. 


who  do  not  think  this  the  best  means  of  bringing  political 
influence  to  bear  upon  the  question,  but  who  would  prefer 
voting  for  such  anti-slavery  candidates,  as  might  be  nom¬ 
inated  by  either  of  the  two  great  parties  already  existing, 
or  in  the  absence  of  any  such  candidate  would  decline 
voting  at  all.  My  own  bias  was  in  favor  of  this  course, 
since  it  was  the  one  pursued  in  Great  Britain,  and  which 
had  been  so  eminently  successful  in  the  general  election  of 
1833.  1  became  convinced,  however,  that  the  “third 

party  ”  has  strong  reasons  in  its  favor,  and  that  in  various 
important  respects  the  abolitionists  of  the  United  States 
are  differently  circumstanced  in  regard  to  elections  from 
those  of  my  own  country ;  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  many  of  the  men  who  pledged  themselves  on  the 
hustings  in  England  were  not  faithful  at  the  time  of  trial. 
At  the  last  sitting  of  the  Convention,  I  stated  the  advan¬ 
tage  we  had  found  in  England,  when  we  wished  to  carry 
any  specific  measure,  of  a  personal  interview  with  the 
members  of  the  legislature,  who  might  state  facts  to  them 
and  answer  their  objections.  It  was  immediately  suggested 
to  send  a  deputation  to  Albany,  where  the  senate  and 
assembly  of  the  State  of  New  York  were  then  in  session, 
to  promote  the  repeal  of  two  iniquitous  laws  affecting 
people  of  color,  and  which  were  to  be  brought  before  the 
consideration  of  the  Houses.  One  of  them  is  known  as 
the  “nine  months  law.”  By  its  provisions  a  slave-holder 
could  bring  his  negro  “  with  his  own  consent  ”  into  this 
free  State,  and  keep  him  there  in  slavery  for  nine  months ! 
At  the  expiration  of  the  time  it  was  of  course  very  easy 
by  a  short  journey  to  a  neighboring  State,  to  obtain  a  new 
license,  and  thus  perpetuate  slave-holding  in  the  State  of 
New  York.  The  other  law  was  an  act  restricting  the 


LIBERTY  PARTY. 


67 


elective  franchise  of  men  of  color,  to  those  possessing  a 
fixed  amount  of  property,  no  such  restriction  existing  in 
the  case  of  white  men.  This  suggestion  was  adopted  by 
the  Convention,  and  a  deputation  appointed,  with  what 
success  will  be  seen  hereafter. 

In  order  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the  course  pursued 
by  the  “  Liberty  party,”  I  subjoin  a  statement  of  the  plan 
of  operation  issued  by  a  Philadelphia  committee. 

«  PLAN  OF  OPERATION. 

“  A  national  committee  to  meet  at  Utica,  to  have  a 
general  care  and  oversight  of  the  cause  throughout  the 
nation,  and  to  act  as  a  central  corresponding  committee. — 
State  committees,  to  perform  similar  duties,  in  their  States. 
—  County  committees,  the  same  in  their  respective  coun 
ties.  —  City  and  district  committees,  the  same  in  their 
respective  cities  and  districts.  —  Township  and  ward 
committees,  to  have  the  particular  charge  of  their  respec¬ 
tive  townships  or  wards. 

“  This  duty  may  be  performed  by  their  appointing  a 
sub-committee,  to  consist  of  one  member  for  each  block, 
square,  section,  sub-division,  or  neighborhood,  whose  duty 
it  will  be  to  endeavor  to  abolitionize  his  sub-division ;  or, 
at  least,  ascertain,  as  far  as  practicable,  how  many  of  the 
legal  voters  will  vote  the  Liberty  ticket,  and  transmit  the 
number  to  his  city  or  county  committee,  which  is  to 
forward  the  number  of  voters  in  their  city  or  county  to 
their  State  committee,  and  the  State  committee  is  to 
forward  the  number  of  voters  in  their  State  to  the  national 
committee ;  and  also  to  distribute,  or  cause  to  be  distrib¬ 
uted,  in  his  sub-division,  such  tracts,  circulars,  notices, 
tickets,  &c.,  as  shall  be  furnished  by  his  superior  committee 
for  that  purpose. 


63 


i 


AMISTAD  CAPTIVES. 


“  Each  committee  is  to  communicate  with  its  next 
superior  committee  once  a  year,  or  oftener,  if  required, 
and  to  meet  at  such  time  and  place  not  less  than  once  a 
month,  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  between  it  and  its  superior 
committee.” 

I  afterwards  was  present  at  one  of  a  series  of  meetings, 
held  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  to  the  public  the 
Amistad  captives,  Africans  of  the  Mendi  country,  who  had 
recently  regained  their  freedom.  The  case  of  these 
people  is  so  singularly  interesting,  that,  though  some  of  my 
readers  may  be  already  well  acquainted  with  it,  I  venture 
to  introduce  a  brief  statement  of  their  history  in  the 
Appendix.* 

On  this  occasion  a  very  crowded  and  miscellaneous 
assembly  attended,  to  see  and  hear  the  Mendians,  although 
the  admission  had  been  fixed  as  high  as  half  a  dollar,  with 
the  view  of  raising  a  fund,  to  carry  them  to  their  native 
country.  Fifteen  of  them  were  present,  including  one 
little  boy  and  three  girls.  Cinque  their  chief,  spoke  with 
great  fluency  in  his  native  language ;  and  his  action  and 
manner  were  very  animated  and  graceful.  Not  much  of 
his  speech  was  translated,  yet  he  greatly  interested  his 
audience.  The  little  boy  could  speak  our  language  with 
facility;  and  each  of  them  read  without  hesitation  one  or 
two  verses  in  the  New  Testament.  It  was  impossible  for 
any  one  to  go  away  with  the  impression,  that  in  native 
intellect  these  people  were  inferior  to  the  whites.  The 
information  which  I  privately  received,  from  their  tutor 
and  others  who  had  full  opportunities  of  appreciating  their 
capacities  and  attainments,  fully  confirmed  my  own  very 
favorable  impressions. 

*  See  Appendix  E. 


COLORED  AMERICANS. 


69 


One  evening  during  my  stay,  I  took  tea  with 
twelve  or  fifteen  colored  gentlemen,  at  the  house  of  a 
colored  family.  The  refined  manners  and  great  intelli¬ 
gence  of  many  of  them  would  have  done  credit  to  any 
society.  The  whites  have  a  monopoly  of  prejudice,  but 
not  a  monopoly  of  intellect ;  nor  of  education  and  accom¬ 
plishments  ;  nor  even  of  those  more  trivial,  yet  fascinating 
•graces,  which  throw  the  charm  of  elegance  and  refinement 
over  social  life. 

I  found  from  the  conversation  I  had  with  my  colored 
friends,  on  different  occasions,  that  the  prejudice  against 
them  was  steadily,  and  not  very  slowly,  giving  way  ;  yet 
several  instances  were  mentioned,  of  recent  occurrence, 
which  show  that  it  is  still  strong:  I  will  quote  one  only. 
A  colored  gentleman  informed  me  that  last  winter  a  near 
female  relative  being  about  to  take  a  journey  by  railway 
to  Philadelphia,  she  was  compelled,  though  in  delicate 
health,  to  travel  in  the  comfortless,  exposed  car,  expressly 
provided  for  negroes,  though  he  offered  to  pay  double 
fare  for  a  place  in  the  regular  carriage.  A  lady,  not  of 
the  proscribed  class,  who  has  long  resided  in  New  York, 
mentioned  to  me  as  a  marked  indication  of  a  favorable 
change  in  regard  to  color,  the  holding  of  such  meetings  as 
those  at  which  the  Amistad  captives  were  introduced. 
Such  an  exhibition,  instead  of  causing  a  display  of  benev¬ 
olent  interest  among  all  classes,  would,  some  years  ago, 
have  excited  the  malignant  passions  of  the  multitude,  and 
probably  caused  a  popular  out-break.  Another  sign  of 
the  times  was,  that  white  and  colored  children  might  be 
seen  walking  in  procession  without  distinction,  on  the 
anniversaries  of  the  charity  schools.  The  same  lady,  in 
whose  veracity  I  place  full  confidence,  informed  me  that 


70 


JOURNEY  TO  ALBANY. 


there  is  now  residing  in  this  city,  a  native  of  Cuba, 
formerly  a  slave-holder  at  the  Havana,  who  had  narrowly 
escaped  assassination  from  a  negro.  He  had  threatened 
the  slave  with  punishment  the  following  day,  but  the 
desperate  man  concealed  himself  in  his  master’s  room,  and 
in  the  night,  stabbed  and  killed  his  mistress  by  mistake, 
instead  of  his  master.  Three  negroes  were  executed  as 
principal  and  accessories ;  but  their  intended  victim  w7as  so 
terrified  that  he  left  Havana  for  New  York.  His  fears, 
not  his  conscience,  were  alarmed,  for  he  still  carries  on  his 
diabolical  traffic  between  Africa  and  Cuba,  and  is  reported 
to  have  gained  by  it,  last  year,  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  He  lives  in  great  splendor,  and  has  the  character 
of  a  liberal  and  generous  man,  but  with  the  most  impla¬ 
cable  hatred  to  the  blacks.  “  One  murder  makes  a 
villain,  thousands  a  hero.”  How  wdde  the  distinction 
between  this  man  and  the  wretches  who  paid  the  forfeit  of 
their  lives  for  a  solitary  murder !  * 

On  the  evening  of  the  17th,  in  company  with  several 
of  my  abolition  friends,  1  started  for  Albany,  where  the 
State  legislature  was  then  in  session.  The  distance  from 
Newr  York  is  about  a  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles,  and  is 
frequently  performed  by  the  steamers,  on  the  noble  river 
Hudson,  in  nine  hours  and  a  half  up  the  stream,  and  in 
eight  hours  down.  On  these  steamers  there  is  accommo¬ 
dation  for  several  hundred  passengers  to  lodge,  and  the 
fare  is  only  one  dollar,  with  an  extra  charge  for  beds  and 
meals.  For  an  additional  dollar,  two  persons  may  secure 
a  state  room  to  themselves. 


*  Sir  F.  Buxton  has  shown  that  two  lives  at  least  are  sacrificed 
for  every  slave  carried  off  from  Africa. 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES. 


71 


As  night  drew  on,  and  the  deck  began  to  be  cleared, 

I  observed  a  well-dressed  black  man  and  woman  sitting 
apart,  and  supposing  they  could  obtain  no  berths  on 
account  of  their  color,  I  went  and  spoke  to  them.  I  told 
them  I  and  several  others  on  board  were  abolitionists. 
The  man  then  informed  us  they  were  escaping  from 
slavery,  and  had  left  their  homes  little  more  than  two  days 
before.  They  appeared  very  intelligent,  though  they 
could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  described  to  us  how 
they  had  effected  their  escape.  They  had  obtained  leave 
to  go  to  a  wedding,  from  which  they  were  not  expected 
to  return  till  the  evening  of  the  day  following.  Having 
procured  forged  certificates  of  freedom,  for  which  they 
paid  twenty-five  dollars,  each,  they  came  forward  with 
expedition  by  railway  and  steam  boat.  They  had  heard 
of  emancipation  in  the  British  West  Indies,  and  the  efforts 
of  the  abolitionists  in  the  States,  but  they  were  unacquainted 
with  the  existence  of  vigilance  committees,  to  facilitate  the 
escape  of  runaway  slaves.  We  assisted  them  to  proceed 
to  the  house  of  a  relative  of  one  of  our  party,  out  of  the 
track  of  the  pursuer,  should  they  be  followed.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  they  have  safely  reached  Canada,  for  I 
was  told  at  Albany,  public  opinion  had  become  so  strong 
in  favor  of  self-emancipation,  that  if  a  runaway  were 
seized  in  the  city,  it  is  probable  he  would  be  rescued  by 
the  people. 

I  w'ould  also  point  attention  to  the  fact,  which  is 
brought  to  light  by  this  relation,  that  the  slave-holders 
have  not  only  to  contend  with  the  honest  and  open-handed 
means  which  the  abolitionists  most  righteously  employ,* 
to  facilitate  the  escape  of  slaves,  but  with  the  mercenary 

*  See  Deut.  xxiii.  15,  16. 


72 


HARTFORD. 


acts  of  members  of  their  own  community,  who  live  by  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  forged  free  papers. 

During  my  stay  in  Albany,  I  waited  upon  William  H. 
Seward,  the  Governor,  and  on  Luther  Bradish,  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York.  It  will, 
I  trust,  be  considered  no  breach  of  confidence,  if  I  state 
that  I  found  their  sentiments  on  the  true  principles  of 
liberty,  worthy  of  the  enlightened  legislators  and  first 
magistrates  of  a  free  republic.  They  concur  in  the 
general  sentiment  that  public  opinion  in  this  metropolitan 
State  is  making  rapid  progress  in  favor  of  full  and 
impartial  justice  to  the  people  of  color,  a  movement  to 
which  their  own  example  in  the  high  stations  which  they 
adorn  has  given  a  powerful  impulse. 

I  attended  part  of  the  sittings  of  the  Senate  and 
Assembly,  and  conversed  with  a  number  of  members  of 
both  houses.  The  public  business  was  transacted  with  at 
least  as  much  order  and  decorum  as  in  the  Lords  and 
Commons  of  Great  Britain.  I  left  Albany  the  same 
evening,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing,  a  few  days 
afterwards,  that  the  repeal  of  “  the  nine  months  law  ” 
had  passed  both  houses,  and  was  ratified  by  the  Governor; 
and  that  in  the  Assembly  upwards  of  fifty  members  had 
voted  for  it,  although  it  was  thought  not  ten  would  have 
done  so  two  years  since.  By  this  change  of  the  law  any 
slave  brought  by  his  master  within  the  limits  of  the  State, 
even  with  his  own  consent,  is  not  obliged  to  return  to 
slavery. 

I  proceeded  by  way  of  New  York  to  Hartford  in 
Connecticut,  in  order  to  be  present  at  an  anti-slavery 
meeting  of  the  State  Society,  to  which  I  had  been  invited. 
On  my  arrival,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  19th,  I  found  the 


HARTFORD. 


73 


meeting  assembled,  and  in  the  chair  my  friend  J.  T. 
Norton,  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  legislature,  a  munifi¬ 
cent  and  uncompromising  friend  to  the  anti-slavery  cause, 
and  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  London  Convention.  A 
black  minister  of  religion  addressed  the  meeting  in  an  able 
and  interesting  manner.  Soon  after  the  close  of  his 
speech,  a  circumstance,  quite  unexpected  to  me,  introduced 
a  discussion  on  the  right  of  women  to  vote  and  publicly 
act,  conjointly  with  men.  The  chairman  decided  that 
the  motion  in  favor  of  it  was  negatived,  but  the  minority 
required  the  names  on  both  sides  to  be  taken  down ;  this 
consumed  much  time,  and  disturbed  the  harmony  of  the 
meeting.  I  attended  in  the  evening  a  committee  of  the 
legislature,  which  was  sitting  at  the  court  house,  to  hear 
the  speeches  of  persons  who  were  allowed  to  address  the 
committee  in  support  of  a  petition  that  the  word  “white” 
should  be  expunged  from  the  constitution  of  Connecticut. 
This  change  would  of  course  give  equal  rights  to  the 
colored  class.  When  1  entered,  the  same  colored  minister 
I  had  heard  in  the  afternoon,  was  addressing  the  com¬ 
mittee.  He  was  listened  to  with  great  attention,  not  only 
by  the  members,  but  by  near  two  hundred  of  the 
inhabitants,  who  were  present.  He  was  followed  on  the 
same  side,  by  a  white  gentleman  in  a  very  strong  and 
uncompromising  speech.  The  next  day  I  paid  my 
respects  to  William  W.  Ellsworth,  the  Governor  of  the 
State,  and  to  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court ;  and  after¬ 
wards  attended  the  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Anti-Slavery 
Society.  The  vexed  question  of  “  women’s  rights  ”  was 
again  brought  forward  in  another  shape ;  the  names  on 
both  sides  again  called  for,  with  the  same  result  as  before. 
My  belief  was  fully  confirmed,  that  those  who  differ  so 
7 


74 


JUDGE  JAY. 


widely  in  sentiment,  have  no  alternative  but  to  meet  and 
act  in  distinct  organizations. 

The  Amistad  captives  arrived  at  Hartford  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day,  and  were  to  address  a  meeting 
in  the  evening.  An  anti-slavery  bazaar  or  fair  which  I 
visited  this  day,  furnished  ample  testimony  of  the  zeal  of 
the  female  friends  of  the  oppressed  slave  in  this  district. 
I  returned  the  same  evening  to  New  Haven,  and  subse¬ 
quently  received  a  copy  of  two  resolutions,  approving  the 
proceedings  of  the  general  Anti-Slavery  Convention,  in 
which  it  is  stated  by  the  Connecticut  anti-slavery  com¬ 
mittee,  “  they  have  abundant  evidence  that  the  cause  of 
the  slave  has  been  essentially  promoted  thereby  also 
recommending  “  that  a  convention  of  men  from  all  parts 
of  the  world,  friendly  to  the  cause  of  immediate  emanci¬ 
pation,  be  again  called  in  London,  in  the  summer  of 
1842.” 

On  the  21st,  I  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  Judge 
Jay,  where  I  was  very  kindly  received  by  his  wife  and 
family,  the  Judge  himself  being  from  home.  On  his 
return  the  next  day,  I  had  much  interesting  conversation 
with  him  on  the  prospects  of  our  cause.  He  is  convinced 
that  it  is  making  steady  progress,  notwithstanding  the 
schism  in  the  anti-slavery  ranks.  He  said  also,  that  of  the 
runaway  slaves  who  called  at  his  house,  some  have  told 
him  that  their  condition  had  improved  of  late  years ; 
others  saw  no  change  in  their  treatment ;  not  one  has 
complained  that  they  suffered  more  than  formerly,  in 
consequence  of  the  discussions  at  the  North  about  aboli¬ 
tion.  With  regard  to  the  free  blacks,  he  fears  that  the 
persecution  of  them  by  the  slave-holders  has  increased ; 
though  at  the  North  the  prejudice  against  them  has 


ELIZABETH  HEYRICK. 


75 


unquestionably,  in  his  opinion,  been  much  mitigated  by 
the  efforts  of  the  abolitionists.  It  is  an  interesting  fact, 
and  one  that  ought  to  encourage  the  humble  and  retired 
laborer  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness,  that  this 
able  and  distinguished  advocate  of  the  claims  of  the 
oppressed  slaves  and  people  of  color,  was  converted  to  his 
present  views  by  Elizabeth  Hey  rick’s  pamphlet,  “  Imme¬ 
diate,  not  Gradual,  Abolition  of  West  India  Slavery. ” 
Let  me  for  a  moment  pause  to  render  a  tribute  of  justice 
to  the  memory  of  that  devoted  woman.  Few  will  deny 
that  the  long  and  heart-sickening  interval  that  occurred 
between  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade  of  Great  Britain, 
and  the  emancipation  of  her  slaves,  was  owing  to  the 
false,  but  universal  notion,  that  the  slaves  must  be  gradu¬ 
ally  prepared  for  freedom :  a  notion  that  we  now  confess 
is  as  contrary  to  reason  and  Christian  principle  as  it  is 
opposed  to  the  past  experience  of  our  colonies.  Yet  a 
generation  passed  away  while  the  abolitionists  of  Great 
Britain  were  trying  to  make  ropes  of  sand  —  to  give 
practical  effect  to  an  impracticable  theory ;  pursuing  a  delu¬ 
sion,  which  this  honored  woman  was  the  first  to  detect ; 
and  that  less  by  force  and  subtility  of  argument,  than  by 
the  statement  of  self-evident  truths,  and  by  the  enforce¬ 
ment  of  the  simple  and  grand  principle  that  Christianity 
admits  of  no  compromise  with  sin.  This  was  an  easy 
lesson,  yet  it  was  one  which  our  senators  and  statesmen, 
our  distinguished  philanthropists,  and  our  whole  anti¬ 
slavery  host  were  slow  to  learn.  The  pamphlet  produced 
little  immediate  effect,  but  to  cause  its  writer  to  be 
regarded  as  an  amiable  enthusiast  and  visionary.  It  now 
remains  a  monument  of  the  indestructible  nature,  and  the 


76 


PLAN  FOR  UNIVERSAL  PEACE. 


irresistible  power  of  truth,  even  when  wielded  by  feeble 
and  despised  bands. 

Judge  Jay  read  to  me  part  of  a  very  interesting  and 
important  manuscript,  which  he  had  prepared  on  the 
preservation  of  international  peace.  He  suggests  that 
any  two  nations,  entering  into  an  alliance,  should  embody 
in  their  treaty  a  clause  mutually  binding  them  to  refer  any 
dispute  or  difficulty  that  may  arise,  to  the  arbitration  of 
one  or  more  friendly  powers.  As  he  has  concluded  to 
publish  his  pamphlet,  I  trust  it  will  shortly  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  friends  of  peace  in  this  country,  as  well  as 
in  America.  This  idea  is  beautifully  simple,  and  of  easy 
application.  Through  the  kindness  of  the  author,  I  have 
been  furnished  with  a  long  and  important  extract  from  his 
manuscript,  which  I  am  permitted  to  lay  before  the  Brit¬ 
ish  public  by  anticipation,  in  the  Appendix  to  the  present 
work.*  On  returning  from  his  hospitable  mansion,  he 
obligingly  sent  his  carriage  with  me  to  Sing  Sing,  but  the 
steamboat  had  started  earlier  than  we  expected,  and  I 
hired  a  carriage  and  a  pair  of  horses,  with  the  driver,  who 
was  also  the  proprietor,  to  convey  me  the  remainder  of 
the  way  to  Newr  York.  The  distance  for  which  I 
engaged  it,  was  thirty-six  miles,  for  the  moderate  sum  of 
five  dollars.  On  the  road,  the  man  pointed  out  the  place 
where  Major  Andre  was  taken,  whose  tragical  end  excites 
sympathy  even  to  this  day,  in  the  breast  of  the  Americans. 
On  entering  the  city,  we  passed  a  man  in  livery,  and  my 
driver  remarked,  “  There,  that  is  English ;  I  would  not 
wear  that  for  a  hundred  dollars  a  day.”  Long  may  the 
American,  who  lives  by  his  daily  labor,  preserve  this 
feeling  of  honorable  independence. 

*  See  Appendix  F. 


SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


77 


During  my  stay  at  New  York  this  time,  I  was  the 
guest  of  my  friend  William  Shotwell,  Jr.,  at  whose  hospi¬ 
table  dwelling,  I  afterwards  took  up  my  abode,  whenever 
I  lodged  in  the  city.  From  the  24th  to  the  28th,  I  was 
chiefly  occupied  in  attending  the  sittings  of  the  Friends’ 
Yearly  Meeting  of  this  State;  and,  during  the  intervals, 
in  seeing  many  Friends  in  private  company.  I  was  much 
encouraged  to  find  among  them,  a  considerable  number 
thoroughly  imbued  with  anti-slavery  sentiments  ;  especially, 
from  the  western  parts  of  the  State.  The  subject  of 
slavery  was  introduced,  in  the  Yearly  Meeting,  by  read¬ 
ing  the  Epistle  from  the  Society  in  England,  which  is 
elsewhere  quoted.*  This  was  followed  on  the  part  of 
many,  by  expressions  of  deep  feeling ;  and  the  question 
was  referred  to  a  committee,  for  practical  consideration. 
In  consequence  of  the  report  of  this  committee,  at  a 
subsequent  sitting,  five  hundred  copies  of  the  English 
address  were  directed  to  be  printed,  and  circulated  among 
Friends,  within  the  compass  of  the  Yearly  Meeting;  and 
the  whole  subject  was  referred  to  its  “  meeting  for  suffer¬ 
ings,”  with  an  earnest  recommendation,  that  they  should 
embrace  every  right  opening  for  furthering  the  great 
object.  The  clerk  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  expressed  his 
firm  conviction,  that  the  work  was  on  the  wheel,  and  that 
nothing  would  be  permitted  to  stop  its  progress,  until, 
either  in  mercy  or  in  judgment,  the  bonds  of  every  slave 
should  be  broken.  He  spoke  in  a  very  powerful  manner. 
In  most  of  the  epistles  sent  out  from  this  Yearly  Meeting, 
as  well  as  from  that  of  Philadelphia,  the  subject  of  slavery 
was  introduced,  and  commended  to  the  earnest  considera¬ 
tion  of  the  body,  here  and  elsewhere.  Previous  to  the 

*  See  Appendix  A. 


7* 


78 


NEW  YORK  YEARLY  MEETING. 


assembling  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  I  bad  placed  in  the 
bands  of  one  of  its  members,  the  following  letter : 

My  dear  Friend,  —  Wilt  thou  have  the  kindness  to 
ask  the  Friends  with  whom  it  rests  to  grant  such  a  request, 
to  permit  the  use  of  the  meeting  house  at  a  convenient 
time,  either  during  the  Yearly  Meeting,  or  before  those 
who  attend  from  the  country  leave  the  city,  for  the 
purpose  of  affording  my  friend  John  Candler  an  opportu¬ 
nity  of  giving  Friends  some  outline  of  emancipation  in 
Jamaica.  I  should  like  at  the  same  time  to  give  a  little 
information  on  the  state  of  the  anti-slavery  question  in 
other  parts  of  the  world.  John  Candler,  it  is  I  believe 
generally  known,  visited  Jamaica  with  the  full  sanction  of 
the  “meeting  for  sufferings,”  in  London.  My  visit  to  this 
country  had  no  particular  reference  to  the  members  of  our 
Society,  but  my  friends  in  England  kindly  furnished  me 
with  the  enclosed  documents. 

Affectionately, 

Joseph  Sturge. 

New  York,  5th  Month  \lth,  1841. 

This  request  was  kindly  complied  with.  The  large 
meeting  house  was  granted  for  the  evening  of  the  27th. 
The  clerks  of  the  men’s  and  women’s  meetings  gave 
public  notice  of  it  in  their  respective  assemblies.  The 
former,  the  venerable  and  worthy  Richard  Mott,  encour¬ 
aged  Friends  to  be  present,  and  said,  as  a  thinking  and 
reasoning  people,  they  need  fear  no  harm  from  a  calm 
consideration  of  the  subject.  The  attendance  was  large, 
including,  I  believe,  most  of  those  Friends  who  were  from 
the  country.  The  following  brief  notice  of  it  in  the 


NEW  YORK  YEARLY  MEETING. 


79 


American  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Reporter,  will  explain 
the  character  of  the  meeting. 

“  On  Thursday  evening  of  last  week,  the  members  of 
the  Society  of  Friends  (Orthodox,)  assembled  in  this  city 
at  their  Annual  Meeting,  met  at  their  meeting  house  in 
Orchard  street,  to  listen  to  the  statements  of  John  Candler, 
of  England,  lately  returned  from  a  visit  to  the  West  India 
Islands,  as  to  the  results  of  emancipation  in  those  Islands, 
and  also  of  our  esteemed  friend,  Joseph  Sturge,  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  general  subject  of  emancipation  throughout  the 
world. 

“  The  meeting  was  largely  attended.  The  successful 
and  happy  results  of  the  immediate  emancipation  of  the 
slaves  of  the  colonies,  as  detailed  by  John  Candler,  were 
calculated  to  strenthen  the  conviction  that  to  do  justice  is 
always  expedient.  Joseph  Sturge  gave  a  history  of  the 
progress  of  the  anti-slavery  cause  in  Great  Britain  from 
the  time  of  the  old  abolition  society,  of  which  Thomas 
Clarkson  was  a  member,  and  of  which  he  is  sole  survivor. 
He  also  glanced  at  the  state  of  the  cause  in  other  quar¬ 
ters  of  the  globe  —  at  the  efforts  for  East  India  emanci¬ 
pation,  and  at  late  movements  in  France,  Brazil  and 
Spain,  in  favor  of  emancipation  ;  concluding  with  a  most 
affecting  appeal  to  the  members  of  his  religious  society  to 
omit  no  right  opportunity  for  pleading  for  the  slave,  and 
for  hastening  the  day  of  his  deliverance. 

“  We  take  pleasure  in  recording  such  evidences  that 
the  good  old  testimony  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  on  this 
subject,  is  still  maintained  among  them.  The  Friends  of 
the  past  generation  set  a  noble  example  to  other  Christian 
sects,  by  emancipating  their  slaves,  from  a  sense  of  reli- 


80 


NEW  YORK  YEARLY  MEETING. 


gious  duty ;  and  it  seems  to  us,  that  those  of  the  present 
day  have  great  responsibilities  resting  upon  them;  and 
that  it  especially  becomes  them  to  see  to  it  that  their  light 
is  not  hidden  in  this  hour  of  darkness  and  prejudice,  on 
the  subject  of  human  rights.  The  slaveholder  and  his 
victim  both  look  to  them;  —  the  one  with  deprecating 
gesture,  and  words  of  flattery  —  the  other  in  beseeching 
and  half  reproachful  earnestness.  We  cannot  doubt  that 
the  agonizing  appeal  of  the  latter  is  listened  to  by  all  who 
truly  feel  the  weight  of  their  religious  testimonies  resting 
upon  them ;  and  we  trust  there  will  be  found  among  them 
an  increasing  zeal  to  secure  to  these  unhappy  victims  of 
avarice  and  the  lust  of  power,  that  liberty  which  George 
Fox,  two  centuries  in  advance  of  his  contemporaries, 
declared  to  be  e  the  right  of  all  men.’  ” 

When  the  assembly  broke  up,  the  clerk  of  the  Yearly 
Meeting,  who  sat  by  us,  expressed  to  me  his  entire 
satisfaction  with  the  proceedings,  as  did  others  present. 
One  influential  member  of  the  Society,  however,  who  met 
me  the  next  day  in  the  street,  stated  very  decidedly  bis 
disapprobation  of  the  tenor  of  certain  parts  of  my  address; 
but  1  found  that  he  condemned  me  on  hearsay  evidence, 
not  having  attended  the  meeting  himself.  On  the  29th, 
I  was  favored  with  a  call  from  Lieutenant  Governor 
Cunningham,  of  St.  Kitts,  on  his  way  to  England,  who 
gave  a  very  favorable  account  of  the  continued  good 
conduct  of  the  emancipated  slaves  in  that  Island.  It  is 
surely  an  eminent  token  of  the  divine  blessing  on  a 
national  act  of  justice  and  mercy,  that  evidence  of  this 
kind  should  have  been  so  abundantly  and  uniformly 
supplied  from  every  colony  where  slavery  has  been 


LETTER  OF  JOHN  COX. 


81 


abolished.  A  fine  black  man  was  brought  to  me  about 
this  time,  who  showed  me  papers  by  which  it  appeared  he 
had  lately  given  one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  for  his 
freedom.  He  had  since  been  driven  from  the  State  in 
which  he  lived,  by  the  operation  of  a  law,  enacted  to 
prevent  the  continued  residence  of  free  people  of  color, 
and  has  thus  been  banished  from  a  wife  and  family,  who 
are  still  slaves.  He  has  agreed  with  their  owner,  that  if 
he  can  pay  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  in  six  years, 
his  wife  and  six  children  shall  be  free,  and  he  was  then 
trying  to  get  employment  in  New  York,  in  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  raise  this  large  sum  within  the  specified 
time. 

On  the  29th,  I  proceeded  to  Burlington ;  while  I  was 
there  five  or  six  Friends  drew  up  and  presented  me  with 
a  resolution,  expressive  of  their  readiness  and  desire  to  join 
with  other  members  of  their  religious  society  in  active 
efforts  for  the  abolition  of  slavery. 

On  the  30th,  I  paid  a  second  visit  to  my  venerable 
friend  John  Cox.  The  next  morning  his  grandson  kindly 
accompanied  me  to  Mount  Holly,  to  see  the  humble 
dwelling  of  the  late  John  Woolman.  I  afterwards 
received  from  John  Cox  a  letter,  from  which  I  quote  the 
following  extract  relating  to  this  remarkable  man,  whose 
character  confers  interest  even  on  the  most  trivial  incidents 
of  his  life  which  can  now  be  remembered : 

“Since  our  separation  on  the  morning  of  the  31st 
ultimo,  when  my  grandson  accompanied  thee  to  Mount 
Holly,  I  have  been  there,  it  having  been  previously 
reported  that  the  ancient,  humble  dome,  which  passed 
under  thy  inspection  as  the  residence  of  John  Woolman, 


82 


MUSEUM  OF  CHINESE  CURIOSITIES. 


he  never  inhabited,  though  that  he  built  the  house  (as 
Solomon  built  the  temple,)  is  admitted.  With  a  view  to 
remove  this  erroneous  impression,  I  sought  and  obtained 
an  interview  with  the  only  man  now  living  in  the  town, 
who  was  contemporary  with  John  Woolman,  (now  eighty 
years  of  age,)  and  in  habits  of  occasional  intercourse  with 
him.  He  informed  me  that  John  Woolman’s  daughter 
(an  only  child,)  and  her  husband  resided  in  the  house  when 
her  father  embarked  for  London,  which  was  in  the  year 
1772,  as  recorded  in  his  journal.  The  fact  of  residence 
is  corroborated  by  the  circumstance  of  the  search  for  and 
destruction  of  caterpillars  in  the  apple  orchard,  which 
I  think,  was  related  to  thee. 

“The  sage  historian  of  by-gone  days,  whom  I  met  at 
Mount  Holly,  spake  of  his  being  at  John  Woolman’s  little 
farm,  in  the  season  of  harvest,  when  it  was  customary, 
and  so  remains  to  the  present  time,  for  farmers  to  slay  a 
young  calf  or  a  lamb;  the  common  mode  is  by  bleeding 
in  the  jugular  vein;  but  with  a  view  to  mitigate  the 
sufferings  of  the  animal  in  that  mode,  he  had  prepared, 
and  kept  by  him  for  that  express  purpose,  a  large  block 
of  wood  with  a  smooth  surface,  and  after  confining  the 
limbs  of  the  animal,  it  was  laid  gently  thereon,  and  the 
head  severed  from  the  body  at  one  stroke.” 

While  in  this  neighborhood,  I  made  a  call  on  Nathan 
Dunn,  the  proprietor  of  the  “Chinese  collection.”  He 
resided  many  years  at  Canton,  and  since  his  return  has 
built  himself  a  mansion  in  the  Chinese  style.  His  museum 
of  Chinese  curiosities  is  by  far  the  most  extensive  and  valu¬ 
able  which  has  ever  been  seen  out  of  that  country,  and  forms 
one  of  the  most  attractive  and  instructive  exhibitions  in 


CHINESE  COLLECTION. 


83 


Philadelphia;  one  whose  character  and  arrangement  are 
quite  unique ,  and  which  has  some  pretensions  to  the  title 
of  “  China  in  miniature.”  It  occupies  the  whole  of  the 
lower  saloon  of  that  splendid  building  recently  erected  at 
the  corner  of  Ninth  and  George  streets,  by  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  Museum  Company.  The  visitor’s  notice  is  first 
attracted  by  a  series  of  groups  of  figures,  representing 
Chinese  of  nearly  every  grade  in  society,  engaged  in  the 
actual  business  of  life.  The  figures,  in  their  appropriate 
costume,  are  modeled  in  a  peculiarly  fine  clay,  by 
Chinese  artists,  with  exquisite  skill  and  effect.  All  are 
accurate  likenesses  of  originals,  most  of  whom  are  now 
living.  The  following  enumeration  of  one  of  the  cases, 
expanded  in  the  subsequent  description,  which  I  quote 
from  the  catalogue,  will  give  an  idea  of  the  manner  in 
which  Chinese  life  and  manners  are  illustrated : 

Case  viii.  —  No.  21.  Chinese  Gentleman.  —  22. 
Beggar  asking  alms.  —  23.  Servant  preparing  break¬ 
fast. —  24.  Purchaser. — 25.  Purchaser  examining  a 
piece  of  black  silk.  The  proprietor  behind  the  counter 
making  calculations  on  his  counting  board.  —  Clerk  en¬ 
tering  goods.  —  Circular  table ,  with  breakfast  furniture. 

“  This  has  been  arranged  so  as  to  afford  an  exact 
idea  of  a  Chinese  retail  establishment.  Two  purchasers 
have  been  placed  by  the  counter :  one  of  whom  is  scru¬ 
tinizing  a  piece  of  black  silk  that  lies  before  him.  The 
owner,  behind  the  counter,  is  carelessly  bending  forward, 
and  intent  on  casting  an  account  on  the  ‘calculating  dish,’ 
while  his  clerk  is  busy  making  entries  in  the  book,  in 
doing  which  he  shows  us  the  Chinese  mode  of  holding 
a  pen,  or  rather  brush,  which  is  perpendicularly  between 


84 


CHINESE  MERCHANTS  AND  ARTISTS. 


the  thumb  and  all  the  fingers.  A  servant  is  preparing 
breakfast.  A  circular  eight-legged  table,  very  similar  to 
those  used  by  our  great  grandfathers,  is  spread  in  the 
centre  of  the  shop.  Among  its  furniture,  the  ivory  chop¬ 
sticks  are  the  most  novel.  On  the  visitor’s  right  hand 
sits  a  gentleman,  with  a  pipe,  apparently  a  chance  comer, 
‘just  dropped  in’  about  meal  time;  on  the  left,  a  blind 
beggar  stands,  beating  two  bamboo  sticks  against  each 
other,  an  operation  with  which  he  continues  to  annoy  all 
whom  he  visits,  till  he  is  relieved  by  some  trifling  gratu¬ 
ity,  usually  a  single  cash.  A  gilt  image  of  Fo  is  inserted 
in  the  front  part  of  the  counter,  and  a  small  covered  tub, 
filled  with  tea,  with  a  few  cups  near  by,  standing  on  the 
counter,  from  which  customers  are  always  invited  to  help 
themselves. 

“  The  merchants  and  shop-keepers  of  Canton  are 
prompt,  active,  obliging,  and  able.  They  can  do  an 
immense  business  in  a  short  time,  and  without  noise,  bus¬ 
tle,  or  disorder.  Their  goods  are  arranged  in  the  most 
perfect  manner,  and  nothing  is  ever  out  of  its  place. 
These  traits  assimilate  them  to  the  more  enterprising  of 
the  Western  nations,  and  place  them  in  prominent  con¬ 
trast  with  the  rest  of  the  Asiatics.  It  is  confidently 
asserted  by  those  who  have  had  the  best  opportunities  of 
judging,  that  as  business  men,  they  are  in  advance  of 
Spanish,  Italian,  and  Portuguese  merchants. 

“  There  is  a  variety  of  amusing  inscriptions  on  the 
scrolls  hung  up  in  the  interior  of  some  of  the  shops, 
which  serve  at  the  same  time  to  mark  the  thrifty  habits 
of  the  traders.  A  few  specimens  are  subjoined  : — ‘Gos¬ 
sipping  and  long  sitting  injure  business.’  ‘Former 
customers  have  inspired  caution  —  no  credit  given.’  ‘A 


CHINESE  ARTISTS. 


85 


small  stream  always  flowing.’  ‘  Genuine  goods  ;  prices 
true.’  ‘Trade  circling  like  a  wheel,’  et  cet.” 

In  addition  to  the  above  models,  the  collection 
includes  an  almost  innumerable  variety  of  specimens  of 
the  fine  arts  and  manufactures,  comprising  almost  every 
article  of  use  and  luxury  —  furniture,  modern  and  antique 
porcelain,  models  houses,  pagodas,  boats,  junks,  and 
bridges ;  pieces  of  silk,  linen,  cotton,  grass-cloth,  and  other 
fabrics  manufactured  in  China  for  home  consumption; 
books  and  drawings,  costume,  idols,  and  appendages  of 
worship ;  weapons,  musical  instruments,  signs,  mottoes, 
and  entablatures,  and  numerous  paintings,  which  last,  it  is 
justly  observed,  “will  satisfy  every  candid  mind  that 
great  injustice  has  been  done  to  the  Chinese  artists,  in  the 
notion  hitherto  entertained  respecting  their  want  of  skill. 
They  paint  insects,  birds,  fishes,  fruits,  flowers,  with  great 
correctness  and  beauty ;  and  the  brilliancy  and  variety  of 
their  colors  cannot  be  surpassed.  They  group  with 
considerable  taste  and  effect,  and  their  perspective — a 
department  of  the  art  in  which  they  have  been  thought 
totally  deficient — is  often  very  good.” 

Many  of  the  paintings  represent  actual  scenes  and 
occurrences ;  and  thus,  like  the  models  before  mentioned, 
bring  living  China  before  the  mind’s  eye.  The  following 
is  a  good  example. 

“910.  View  of  the  interior  of  the  Consoo  House , 
with  the  court  in  session,  for  the  final  decision  of  the 
charge  of  piracy  committed  by  the  crew  of  a  Chinese 
junk  on  a  French  captain  and  sailors ,  at  a  short  distance 
from  Macao. 

“The  French  ship,  Navigatre,  put  in  to  Cochin 
China  in  distress.  Having  disposed  of  her  to  the  govern- 
8 


86 


CHINESE  CRIMINAL  JUSTICE. 


ment,  the  captain,  with  his  crew,  took  passage  for  Macao 
in  a  Chinese  junk  belonging  to  the  province  of  Fokien. 
Part  of  their  valuables  consisted  of  about  100,000  dollars 
in  specie.  Four  Chinese  passengers  bound  for  Macao, 
and  one  for  Fokien,  were  also  on  board.  This  last 
apprised  the  Frenchmen  in  the  best  manner  he  could,  that 
the  crew  of  the  junk  had  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  take 
their  lives  and  seize  their  treasure.  He  urged  that  an 
armed  watch  should  be  kept.  On  reaching  the  Ladrone 
Islands,  the  poor  Macao  passengers  left  the  junk.  Here 
the  Frenchmen  believed  themselves  out  of  danger,  and 
exhausted  by  sickness  and  long  watching,  yielded  to  a 
fatal  repose.  They  were  all  massacred  but  one,  a  youth 
of  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  who  escaped  by  leaping 
into  the  sea,  after  receiving  several  wounds.  A  fishing 
boat  picked  him  up  and  landed  him  at  Macao,  where 
information  was  given  to  the  officers  of  government,  and 
the  crew  of  the  junk,  with  their  ill-gotten  gains,  were 
seized,  on  their  arrival  at  the  port  of  destination  in  Fokien. 

“  Having  been  found  guilty  by  the  court,  in  their  own 
district,  they  were  sent  down  to  Canton,  by  order  of  the 
Emperor,  to  the  Unchat-see,  (criminal  judge)  to  be 
confronted  with  the  young  French  sailor.  This  trial  is 
represented  in  the  painting.  The  prisoners  were  taken 
out  of  their  cages,  as  is  seen  in  the  foreground.  The 
Frenchman  recognized  seventeen  out  of  the  twenty-four; 
but  when  the  passenger,  who  had  been  his  friend,  was 
brought  in,  the  two  eagerly  embraced  each  other,  which 
scene  is  also  portrayed  in  the  painting.  An  explanation 
of  this  extraordinary  act  was  made  to  the  judge,  and  the 
man  forthwith  set  at  liberty.  A  purse  was  made  up  for 
him  by  the  Chinese  and  foreigners,  and  he  was  soon  on 


CHINESE  JURISPRUDENCE. 


87 


his  way  homeward.  The  seventeen  were  decapitated,  in  a 
few  days,  in  the  presence  of  the  foreigners ;  the  captain 
was  to  be  put  to  a  ‘  lingering  death,’  the  punishment  of 
traitors,  and  the  stolen  treasures  were  restored.” 

1  do  not  quote  the  above  for  the  sake  of  the  anecdote, 
though  the  relation  is  authentic,  but  as  affording  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  advanced  civilization  of  the  Chinese. 
It  shows  that  the  supremacy  of  the  law  is  universal,  and 
its  administration  efficient.  The  criminals,  in  this  instance, 
are  promptly  seized,  tried,  and  condemned  on  strong 
evidence;  but,  before  they  are  executed,  reference  is  made 
to  the  distant  metropolis,  Pekin.  Here  it  is  observed, 
that  the  most  important  witness  was  not  ‘  confronted  with 
the  prisoners,’  and  they  are  forthwith  directed  to  be 
conveyed  to  Canton,  to  be  examined  in  his  presence. 
Seventeen  are  recognized  by  him  and  are  executed.  The 
rest  escape.  Now  this  is  just  what  might  have  taken 
place  under  the  best  ordered  governments  of  Europe. 
The  humane  maxims  of  British  jurisprudence,  if  not 
acknowledged  in  theory,  may  be  here  witnessed  in 
practical  operation,  and  the  single  circumstance  of  refer¬ 
ring  capital  convictions  to  the  Emperor,  in  his  distant 
metropolis,  for  confirmation,  before  they  are  carried  into 
effect,  shows  a  respect  for  human  life,  even  in  the  persons 
of  criminals,  which  is  one  of  the  surest  tokens  of  a  high 
state  of  civilization.  Such  is  the  criminal  jurisprudence 
of  China,  in  practice ;  in  theory,  its  just  praise  has  been 
awarded,  some  years  ago,  by  an  able  writer  in  the  Edin¬ 
burgh  Review.  He  says : — 

“  The  most  remarkable  thing  in  this  code,  is  its  great 
reasonableness,  clearness,  and  consistency ;  the  business¬ 
like  brevity  and  directness  of  the  various  provisions,  and 


88 


CHINESE  JURISPRUDENCE. 


the  plainness  and  moderation  of  the  language  in  which 
they  are  expressed.  It  is  a  clear,  concise,  and  distinct 
series  of  enactments,  savoring  throughout  of  practical 
judgment  and  European  good  sense.  When  we  turn 
from  the  ravings  of  the  Zendavesta,  or  the  Puranas,  to 
the  tone  of  sense  and  of  business  of  this  Chinese  collec¬ 
tion,  we  seem  to  be  passing  from  darkness  to  light  —  from 
the  drivellings  of  dotage  to  the  exercise  of  an  improved 
understanding ;  and,  redundant  and  minute  as  these  laws 
are  in  many  particulars,  we  scarcely  know  any  European 
code  that  is  at  once  so  copious  and  so  consistent,  or  that 
is  nearly  so  free  from  intricacy,  bigotry  and  fiction.” 

In  addition  to  what  have  been  noticed,  the  Chinese 
exhibition  includes  a  copious  and  very  interesting  collec¬ 
tion  of  specimens  of  the  natural  history  of  China. 

I  trust  the  extended  notice  I  have  given  to  the  subject, 
will  at  least  prove  that  this  is  not  an  ordinary  exhibition, 
but  a  representation  of  a  distant  country  and  remarkable 
people,  in  which  amusement  is  most  skilfully  and  philo¬ 
sophically  made  subservient  to  practical  instruction.  A 
beneficent  Creator  has  implanted  within  us  a  thirst  for 
information  about  other  scenes  and  people.  To  be  totally 
devoid  of  this  feeling  would  argue,  perhaps,  not  merely 
intellectual  but  moral  deficiency.  Such  being  the  case, 
the  founder  of  the  “  Chinese  collection  ”  deserves  to  be 
regarded  as  a  public  benefactor,  for,  by  spending  a  few 
hours  in  his  museum,  with  the  aid  of  the  descriptive 
catalogue,  one  may  learn  more  of  the  Chinese  than  by  the 
laborious  perusal  of  all  the  works  upon  them  that  have 
ever  been  written.* 

*  While  the  above  was  passing  through  the  press,  I  have  learned 
that  this  interesting  Collection  has  arrived  for  exhibition  in  this 
country. 


CHINESE  WAR. 


89 


I  cannot  dismiss  this  subject  without  expressing  my 
deep  regret  that  the  British  public  should  appear  to  view 
with  indifference,  or  complacency,  the  cruel  and  unjust 
war  which  our  Government  is  now  waging  against  this 
highly  cultivated  and  unoffending  people,  at  the  instiga¬ 
tion  of  a  handful  of  men,  who  have  acquired  wealth  and 
importance  in  the  vigorous  pursuit  of  an  immoral  and 
unlawful  traffic,  by  means  the  most  criminal  and  detes 
table.  I  have  attempted,  since  my  return  from  the 
United  States,  to  give  some  expression  to  my  sentiments, 
in  a  letter  which  has  been  widely  circulated,  and  which 
will  be  found  reprinted  in  the  Appendix.*  I  trust  none 
under  whose  notice  this  subject  may  come  will  endeavor 
to  evade  their  share  of  responsibility.  If  the  present  war 
with  China  were  the  sole  consideration,  perhaps  no  course 
would  be  left  to  the  Christian  citizen,  but  to  record  his 
protest  and  mourn  in  silence ;  but  the  conclusion  of  the 
war  per  sc  would  not  terminate  the  difficulty,  for  trade  and 
mutual  intercourse  between  the  two  countries,  on  the  basis 
of  a  reciprocation  of  interests,  can  never  be  restored  till 
the  East  India  Company’s  Opium  Trade,  a  traffic, 
like  the  slave  trade,  hateful  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man, 
is  suppressed  ;  or  at  least,  until  British  connection  with  it 
is  severed.  If  asked  who  are  the  guilty  persons,  I  would 
say,  in  the  first  instance,  the  East  India  Company ;  sec¬ 
ondly,  the  opium  smugglers ;  thirdly,  the  British  govern¬ 
ment,  and  lastly,  the  British  people,  who,  by  silent 
acquiescence,  make  the  whole  guilt,  and  the  whole 
responsibility  their  own. 

The  author  of  the  most  popular  modern  work  on 
China,  who  long  superintended  the  interests  of  the  British 

*  See  Appendix  G. 


8* 


90 


CHINESE  WAR. 


merchants  at  Canton,  and  whose  work,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  reflects  their  views,  after  stating  the  increasing 
discouragements  imposed  by  the  authorities  on  foreign 
commerce,  the  effect  for  the  most  part  of  opium  smug¬ 
gling,  and  other  lawless  proceedings,  observes  :  —  “  These 
(discouragements)  are  their  (the  British  merchants)  real 
subjects  of  complaint  in  China ;  and  whenever  the 
accumulation  of  wrong  shall  have  proved,  by  exact 
calculation,  that  it  is  more  profitable,  according  to  merely 
commercial  principles,  to  remonstrate  than  submit,  these 
will  form  a  righteous  and  equitable  ground  of  quarrel !  !  ”* 
The  remonstrance  here  alluded  to  is  war,  as  is  appar¬ 
ent  from  the  context  of  the  passage,  as  well  as  from  the 
fact,  that  by  the  author’s  own  showing  no  other  kind  of 
remonstrance  remained  to  be  tried.  The  true  “  casus 
belli  ”  is  set  forth  by  anticipation  in  this  passage  without 
disguise,  and  by  one  who  knew  well,  and  has  clearly 
described  the  causes  that  were  operating  to  produce  a 
rupture.  The  opium  merchants  have  discovered  that 
now,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  it  is  profitable  to  go  to  war 
with  China,  and  forthwith  the  vast  power  of  Great 
Britain,  obedient  to  their  influence,  is  put  in  motion  to 
sustain  their  unrighteous  quarrel,  to  the  unspeakable 
degradation  of  the  character  of  this  professedly  Christian 
nation.  The  morality  of  the  war  on  our  side,  is  the 
morality  of  the  highwayman ;  that  morality  by  which  the 
strong  in  all  ages  have  preyed  upon  the  weak.  And 
though  a  handful  of  unprincipled  men  find  their  account  in 
it,  before  the  people  of  Great  Britain  have  paid  the 
expenses  of  the  war,  and  the  losses  from  derangement 
and  interruption  of  commerce,  it  will  cost  millions  more 

*  Davis’s  China  and  the  Chinese,  (Murray’s  Family  Library,) 
vol.  i.  p.  195. 


CHINESE  WAR. 


91 


than  all  the  profit  that  has  ever  accrued  to  them  from  the 
opium  trade.  From  what  motive  then,  do  we  uphold  a 
traffic,  which  is  the  curse  of  China,  the  curse  of  India, 
and  a  calamity  to  Great  Britain  ?  Such  a  war  may  be 
fruitful  in  trophies  of  military  glory,  if  such  can  be  gained 
by  the  slaughter  of  the  most  pacific  people  in  the  world  ; 
but  to  expect  that  it  will  promote  the  reputation,  the 
prosperity,  or  the  happiness  of  this  country,  would  be  to 
look  for  national  wickedness  to  draw  down  the  Divine 
blessing.  The  descriptive  catalogue  of  the  “Ten  thous¬ 
and  Chinese  things,”  concludes  with  sentiments  on  this 
subject  which  do  equal  honor  to  the  head  and  heart  of  the 
writer. 

“  Alas  for  missionary  efforts,  so  long  as  the  grasping 
avarice  of  the  countries,  whence  the  missionaries  go,  sets 
at  nought  every  Christian  obligation  before  the  very  eyes 
of  the  people  whom  it  is  sought  to  convert !  Most 
devoutly  do  we  long  for  the  auspicious  day,  when  the 
pure  religion,  that  distilled  from  the  heart,  and  was 
embodied  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  shall  shed  its  sacred  influ¬ 
ence  on  every  human  being ;  but  in  our  inmost  soul  we 
believe  it  will  not  come,  till  the  principles  of  religion  shall 
take  a  firmer  hold  on  the  affections  of  those  who  profess 
to  receive  it,  and  rear  a  righteous  embankment  around 
their  sordid  and  stormy  passions.  When  the  missionary 
shall  find  an  auxiliary  in  the  stainless  life  of  every  com¬ 
patriot  who  visits  the  scene  of  his  labors,  for  purposes  of 
pleasure  or  of  gain,  —  when  he  can  point  not  only  to 
the  pure  maxims  and  sublime  doctrines  proclaimed  by  the 
Founder  of  his  faith,  but  to  the  clustering  graces  that 
adorn  its  professors,  —  then  indeed  will  the  day  dawn, 
and  the  day  star  of  the  millennium  arise  upon  the  world.” 


92 


PHILADELPHIA  INSTITUTIONS. 


During  my  short  stay  in  Philadelphia  on  this  occasion, 
1  visited  several  of  its  prisons,  philanthropic  institutions, 
et  cet.  These  are  pre-eminently  the  glory  of  this  beau¬ 
tiful  city ;  yet  as  they  have  been  often  described,  I  shall 
pass  them  by  in  silence,  with  the  exception  of  two,  the 
Refuge,  and  the  Penitentiary ;  which  I  briefly  notice 
because  I  may  offer  a  few  general  remarks  in  another 
place,  on  the  important  subject  of  prison  discipline.  The 
Refuge  is  an  asylum  for  juvenile  delinquents,  founded  on 
the  just  and  benevolent  principle  that  offences  against 
society,  committed  by  very  young  persons,  should  be 
disciplined  by  training  and  education,  rather  than  by 
punishment.  In  this  establishment  there  are  from  eighty 
to  ninety  boys,  and  from  forty  to  fifty  girls,  of  ages  varying 
from  eight  to  twenty-one  years.  The  former  are  employed 
in  various  light  handicraft  trades,  and  the  latter  in  domes¬ 
tic  services,  and  both  spend  a  portion  of  their  time  in 
school.  They  remain  from  six  months  to  four  years. 
From  the  statements  of  the  superintendent  and  matron,  it 
appeared  that  about  three-fourths  of  the  male,  and  four- 
fifths  of  the  female  inmates  become  respectable  members 
of  society,  and  the  remainder  are  chiefly  such  as  are 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age  when  first  admitted  into  the 
Refuge,  an  age  at  which  character  may  be  considered  as 
in  a  great  measure  formed.  The  labor  of  the  children 
pays  about  one-fifth  of  the  expense  of  the  establishment, 
the  rest  being  defrayed  by  the  legislature. 

The  prejudice  of  color  intrudes  even  here,  no  children 
of  that  plass  being  admitted  into  the  Refuge.  Colored 
delinquency  is  left  to  ripen  into  crime,  with  little  interfer¬ 
ence  from  public  or  private  philanthropy.  As  might  have 
been  expected,  colored  are  more  numerous  than  white 


THE  SEPARATE  SYSTEM. 


93 


criminals,  in  proportion  to  relative  population  ;  and  this 
is  appealed  to  as  a  proof  of  their  naturally  vicious  and 
inferior  character ;  when  in  fact  the  government  and 
society  at  large  are  chargeable  with  their  degradation. 

The  Penitentiary  contained,  at  the  time  of  my  visit, 
about  three  hundred  and  forty  male,  and  thirty-five  female 
prisoners.  In  this  celebrated  prison,  hard  labor  is  com¬ 
bined  with  solitary  confinement,  an  arrangement  which  is 
technically  known  as  the  “  separate  system.”  Silence 
and  seclusion  are  so  strictly  enforced  as  to  be  almost  abso¬ 
lute  and  uninterrupted  ;  even  the  minister  who  addresses 
the  prisoners  on  the  Sabbath  is  known  to  them  only  by 
his  voice.  A  marked  feature  of  this  institution  is  security 
without  the  aid  of  any  deadly  weapon,  none  being  allowed 
in  the  possession  of  the  attendants,  or  indeed  upon  the 
premises.  As  compared  with  the  “  silent  system,”  exhib¬ 
ited  in  the  not  less  famed  prisons  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  this  is  much  less  economical,  as  the  mode  of 
employing  the  prisoners,  in  their  solitary  cells,  greatly  les¬ 
sens  the  power  of  a  profitable  application  of  their  labor. 
If  prisoners  exceed  their  allotted  task,  one-half  of  their 
surplus  earnings  is  given  to  them  on  being  set  at  liberty. 
My  visit  was  too  cursory  to  enable  me  to  give  a  decisive 
opinion  on  the  “  separate  system,”  but  I  confess  my 
impression  is,  that  the  punishment  is  one  of  tremendous 
and  indiscriminating  severity,  and  I  find  it  difficult  to 
believe  that  either  the  safety  of  society,  or  the  welfare  of 
the  prisoner,  can  require  the  infliction  of  so  much  suffer¬ 
ing.  Criminals  are  sometimes  condemned  for  very  long 
periods,  or  for  life ;  and  in  these  cases,  I  was  informed, 
occasionally  manifested  great  recklessness  and  carelessness 
of  their  existence.  I  am  also  not  quite  convinced  that 


94 


BALTIMORE. 


the  reformation  of  prisoners  is  effected  to  the  extent  some¬ 
times  inferred  from  the  small  number  of  recommittals.  A 
sound  statistical  conclusion  cannot  be  drawn  from  this 
datum,  unsupported  by  other  proofs. 

On  the  2d  of  the  6th  Month,  (June,)  I  proceeded  to 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  with  my  friend  John  G.  Whittier. 
Here  we  met  a  company  of  warm-hearted  and  intelli¬ 
gent  abolitionists,  with  whom  we  discussed  the  prospects 
of  the  cause.  It  was  calculated  that  if  compensation 
were  conceded,  to  which  many  would  on  principle  object, 
a  tax  of  less  than  one  dollar  per  acre  would  buy  up  all 
the  slaves  in  the  State  for  emancipation.  It  was  admitted 
by  all,  that  the  abolition  of  slavery  would  advance  the 
price  of  land  in  a  far  greater  ratio ;  probably  ten  or  twenty 
dollars  per  acre. 

We  went  forward  the  same  evening  to  Baltimore, 
accompanied  by  one  of  our  Wilmington  acquaintance, 
and  in  the  railway  carriage  was  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  from  North  Carolina,  who,  though  a  coloniza- 
tionist,  appeared  to  be  a  man  of  candor.  He  gave  it  as 
his  opinion  that  the  majority  of  the  free  people  of  that 
State  are  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery.  We  also 
had  the  company,  a  part  of  the  way,  of  Samuel  E. 
Sewall,  Counsellor  at  Law,  in  Boston,  an  early  and  tried 
abolitionist,  and  a  faithful  friend  and  legal  adviser  of  the 
free  people  of  color. 

The  next  morning,  we  left  Baltimore  for  Washington, 
two  hours’  ride  by  railway.  The  railroads  of  this  country 
being  often  extremely  narrow,  the  trains  frequently  pass 
almost  close  to  the  piers  of  the  bridges  and  viaducts,  a 
circumstance  which  explains  the  following  printed  notice 
in  the  carriages :  “  Passengers  are  cautioned  not  to  put 
their  arms,  head,  or  legs  out  of  the  window.” 


WASHINGTON. 


95 


In  passing  from  a  free  to  a  slave  State,  the  most  casual 
observer  is  struck  with  the  contrast.  The  signs  of  indus¬ 
try  and  prosperity  on  the  broad  face  of  the  country  are 
universally  in  favor  of  the  former,  and  that  to  a  degree 
which  none  but  an  eye  witness  can  conceive.  This  fact 
has  been  often  noticed,  and  has  been  affirmed  by  slave¬ 
holders  themselves,  in  the  most  emphatic  terms.  In  cities 
the  difference  is  not  less  remarkable,  and  was  forcibly 
brought  to  our  notice  in  the  hotel  at  which  we  took  up 
our  residence  on  arriving  at  Washington,  and  which, 
though  the  first  in  the  city,  and  the  temporary  residence 
of  many  members  of  Congress,  was  greatly  deficient  in 
the  cleanliness,  comfort,  and  order,  which  prevail  in  the 
well-furnished  and  well-conducted  establishments  of  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  &c.  At  this  house,  I  under¬ 
stood,  some  of  the  servants  were  free,  and  others  slaves. 

We  were  now  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  seat  of 
this  powerful  Federal  Government,  and  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  the  metropolis  of  the  United  States.  Here 
are  concentrated  as  it  were  into  one  focus,  the  associations 
of  the  past,  connected  with  the  great  struggle  for  inde¬ 
pendence,  and  the  memory  of  those  names  and  events 
which  already  belong  to  history.  Whatever  may  be  our 
political  principles,  or  the  opinions  of  those  who  like 
myself  consider  all  resort  to  arms  as  forbidden  under  the 
Christian  dispensation,  it  is  impossible  to  recall  without 
emotion,  transactions  which  have  exerted  and  will  con¬ 
tinue  to  exert,  so  marked  an  influence  on  the  destinies  of 
mankind.  This  city  was  not  the  scene  of  those  events, 
but  it  was  erected  to  be  a  perpetual  monument  of  them, 
and  in  the  limited  district  of  ten  miles  square,  in  which  it 
stands,  the  Government  which  was  then  called  into  exist- 


96 


DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 


ence  reigns  sole  and  supreme.  If  a  stranger  were  to 
inquire  here  for  the  monuments  of  the  fathers  of  the 
Revolution,  the  American  would  proudly  point  to  the 
Capitol,  with  the  national  Congress  in  full  session,  and  to 
the  levee  of  the  President,  crowded  by  free  citizens,  and 
representatives  of  foreign  nations.  The  United  States 
were  thirteen  dependent  colonies,  they  are  now  twenty- 
six  sovereign  States,  rich  and  populous,  covering  the  face 
of  this  vast  continent,  and  compacted  into  one  powerful 
confederacy.  But  notwithstanding  the  glowing  emotions 
which  seem  naturally  called  forth  by  the  locality,  there  is 
many  an  American  who  bitterly  feels  that  the  District  of 
Columbia  is  the  shame,  rather  than  the  glory  of  his 
country.  Here  is  proclaimed  to  the  whole  world  by  the 
united  voice  of  the  American  people,  “We  hold  these 
truths  to  be  self-evident  —  that  all  men  are  created  equal ; 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain 
inalienable  rights  —  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness and  here  also  by  a  majority 
of  the  same  people  expressing  their  deliberate  will,  through 
their  representatives,  this  declaration  is  trampled  under 
foot,  and  turned  into  derision.* 

*  “  Large  establishments  have  grown  up  upon  the  national  domain, 
provided  with  prisons  for  the  safe  keeping  of  negroes  till  a  full  cargo 
is  procured  ;  and  should,  at  any  time,  the  factory  prisons  be  insuffi¬ 
cient,  the  public  ones,  erected  by  Congress,  are  at  the  service  of  the 
dealers,  and  the  United  States  Marshal  becomes  the  ao-ent  of  the 
slave  trade.” — Judge  Jay's  View  of  the  action  of  the  Federal  Gov¬ 
ernment  in  behalf  of  Slavery ,  page  93.  “  But  the  climax  of  infamy 

is  still  untold.  This  trade  in  blood,  —  this  buying,  imprisoning,  and 
exporting  of  boys  and  girls  eight  years  old,  —  this  tearing  asunder  of 
husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children,  —  is  all  legalized,  in  vir¬ 
tue  of  authority  delegated  by  Congress  ! !  The  249th  page  of  the 
laws  of  the  city  of  Washington  is  polluted  by  the  following  enact¬ 
ment,  bearing  date  28th  July,  1838:  —  ‘For  a  license  to  trade  or 
traffic  in  slaves  for  profit,  four  hundred  dollars.”  —  Ibid,  page  98. 


AMERICAN  SLAVE  TRADE. 


97 


The  District  of  Columbia  is  the  chief  seat  of  the 
American  slave  trade ;  commercial  enterprize  has  no  other 
object!  Washington  is  one  of  the  best  supplied  and  most 
frequented  slave  marts  in  the  world.  The  adjoining  and 
once  fertile  and  beautiful  States  of  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
are  now  blasted  with  sterility,  and  ever-encroaching  deso¬ 
lation.  The  curse  of  the  first  murderer  rests  upon  the 
planters,  and  the  ground  will  no  longer  yield  to  them  her 
strength.  The  impoverished  proprietors  find  now  their  chief 
source  of  revenue  in  what  one  of  themselves  expressly 
termed,  their  “  crop  of  human  flesh.”  Hence  the  slave- 
holding  region  is  now  divided  into  the  “  slave-breeding  ” 
and  “  slave-consuming  ”  States.  From  its  locality,  and 
from  its  importance  as  the  centre  of  public  affairs,  the 
District  of  Columbia  has  become  the  focus  of  this  dreadful 
traffic,  which  almost  vies  with  the  African  slave  trade 
itself  in  extent  and  cruelty,  besides  possessing  aggravations 
peculiarly  its  own.*  It  victims  are  marched  to  the  south 

*  “  Human  flesh  is  now  the  great  staple  of  Virginia.  In  the 
legislature  of  this  State,  in  1832,  Thomas  Jefferson  Randolph 
declared  that  Virginia  had  been  converted  into  ‘  one  grand 
menagerie,  where  men  are  reared  for  the  market,  like  oxen  for  the 
shambles.’  This  same  gentleman  thus  compared  the  foreign  with 
the  domestic  traffic :  ‘  The  trader  (African)  receives  the  slave,  a 
stranger  in  aspect,  language  and  manner,  from  the  merchant  who 
brought  him  from  the  interior.  But  here ,  sir,  individuals  whom 
the  master  has  known  from  infancy,  —  whom  he  has  seen  sporting 
in  the  innocent  gambols  of  childhood,  —  who  have  been  accustomed 
to  look  to  him  for  protection,  —  he  tears  from  the  mother’s  arms, 
exiles  into  a  foreign  country,  among  a  strange  people,  subject  to 
cruel  task-masters.  In  my  opinion,  it  is  much  worse.’  —  Mr.  Ghol- 
son,  of  Virginia,  in  his  speech  in  the  legislature  of  that  State, 
January  18,  1831,  says :  ‘  The  master  foregoes  the  service  of  the 
female  slave,  has  her  nursed  and  attended  during  the  period  of  her 
gestation,  and  raises  the  helpless  and  infant  offspring.  The  value 

9 


98 


AMERICAN  SLAVE  TRADE. 


in  chained  coffles,  overland,  in  the  face  of  day,  and  by 
vessels  coastwise.  Those  who  protest  against  these 
abominations  are  the  abolitionists,  a  body  whose  opinions 
are  so  unpopular  that  no  term  of  reproach  is  deemed  vile 
enough  for  their  desert ;  yet  if  these  should  hold  their 
peace,  the  very  stones  would  surely  cry  out.  The  state 
of  things  in  this  District  has  one  peculiar  feature  ;  being 
under  the  supreme  local  government  of  Congress,  it  pre¬ 
sents  almost  the  only  tangible  point  for  the  political  efforts 
of  those  hostile  to  slavery.  Against  slavery  in  any  but 
their  own  States,  the  abolitionists  have  neither  the  power 
nor  the  wish  to  exert  that  constitutional  interference  which 
they  rightfully  employ  in  the  States  of  which  they  are 
citizens ;  but  with  respect  to  the  District  of  Columbia, 
they  are,  in  common  with  the  whole  republic,  responsible 
for  the  exercise  of  political  influence  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery  within  its  limits.  Hence  this  is  the  grand  point  of 
attack.  They  have  experienced  a  succession  of  repulses, 

of  the  property  justifies  the  expense ;  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say, 
that  in  its  increase  consists  much  of  our  wealth.’  —  Professor  Dew, 
now  President  of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  Virginia,  in 
his  review  of  the  debate  in  the  Virginia  legislature,  1831-2,  speak¬ 
ing  of  the  revenue  arising  from  the  trade,  says  :  ‘  A  full  equivalent 
being  thus  left  in  the  place  of  the  slave,  this  emigration  becomes  an 
advantage  to  the  State,  and  does  not  check  the  black  population  as 
much  as  at  first  view  we  might  imagine  ;  because  it  furnishes  every 
inducement  to  the  master  to  attend  to  the  negroes,  to  encourage 
breeding ,  and  to  cause  the  greatest  number  possible  to  be  raised. 
Virginia  is,  in  fact,  a  negro-raising  State,  for  other  States.’  —  Mr. 
C.  F.  Mercer  asserted,  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829,  ‘The 
tables  of  the  natural  growth  of  the  slave  population  demonstrate, 
when  compared  with  the  increase  of  its  numbers  in  the  common¬ 
wealth  for  twenty  years  past,  that  an  annual  revenue  of  not  less 
than  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars  is  derived  from  the  exportation 
of  a  part  of  this  population.’  ”  — Judge  Jay's  View ,  pages  88,  89. 


CONGRESS. 


99 


but  their  eventual  success  is  certain  ;  the  political  influ¬ 
ence  of  the  slave-holding  interest,  which  is  now  paramount, 
and  which  controls  and  dictates  the  entire  policy  of  the 
general  Government  will  be  destroyed.  Then  will  the 
abolition  of  American  slavery  he  speedily  consummated. 

Very  soon  after  our  arrival,  we  proceeded  to  the 
House  of  Representatives,  then  sitting,  and  were  favored, 
by  introductions  from  a  member,  with  seats  behind  the 
Speaker’s  chair.  The  subject  before  the  House  was,  of 
course,  peculiarly  interesting  to  me,  being  the  proposed 
re-enactment  of  the  “gag;”  a  rule  of  the  House,  by 
which  petitions  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District 
of  Columbia,  are  laid  upon  the  table,  without  being  read 
or  referred,  and  thus  are  virtually  rejected.  One  of  the 
speakers,  William  Slade,  of  Vermont,  who  was  opposed 
to  the  “  gag,”  told  the  pro-slavery  members  that  they 
were  greatly  mistaken  in  supposing  that  such  a  measure 
would  suppress  the  anti-slavery  feeling  of  the  country. 
They  might,  for  a  time,  block  up  the  Potomac,  but  it 
would  only  be  to  direct  its  waters  into  a  new  channel;  in 
the  same  way  as  the  rejection  of  anti-slavery  petitions  had 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  third  abolition  political  party, 
which  was  now  regularly  organized  and  in  the  field. 
Having  previously  heard  much,  of  the  virulence  of  the 
pro-slavery  members,  I  wras  particularly  impressed  with 
the  silence  and  attention  with  which  they  listened  to  this 
speech,  and  w7ith  the  feeling  which  seemed  evidently  to 
prevail,  that  the  subject  could  no  longer  be  met  with 
contempt  and  ridicule.  One  of  the  liberal  members  told 
me  afterwards,  that  they  felt  themselves  in  a  different 
atmosphere  to  what  they  did  tw7o  years  ago,  both  in  the 
House  and  in  the  city,  when  touching  upon  this  subject. 


100 


SLAVE  TRADE. 


Before  the  debate  closed,  the  House  divided  on  the 
question,  whether  ex-president  Adams,  the  veteran  de¬ 
fender  of  the  constitutional  right  of  petition,  and  who  had 
brought  forward  this  motion  for  the  repeal  of  the  “  gag,” 
was  entitled  to  the  right  of  reply.  This  was  decided  in 
his  favor,  and  the  House  adjourned  till  the  beginning  of 
the  following  week. 

In  the  afternoon,  I  proceeded,  by  a  steam  packet,  with 
one  of  my  friends,  to  Alexandria,  about  six  miles  distant, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Potomac.  A  merchant,  to  whom 
I  had  an  introduction,  kindly  accompanied  us  to  a  slave¬ 
trading  establishment  there,  which  is  considered  the  prin¬ 
cipal  one  in  the  District.  The  proprietor  was  absent ; 
but  the  person  in  charge,  a  stout,  middle-aged  man,  with 
a  good-natured  countenance,  that  little  indicated  his 
employment,  readily  consented  to  show  us  over  the 
establishment.  On  passing  behind  the  house,  we  looked 
through  a  grated  iron  door,  into  a  square  court  or  yard, 
with  very  high  walls,  in  which  were  about  fifty  slaves. 
Some  of  the  younger  ones  were  dancing  to  a  fiddle,  an 
affecting  proof,  in  their  situation,  of  the  degradation  caused 
by  slavery.  There  were  others,  who  seemed  a  prey  to 
silent  dejection.  Among  these  was  a  woman,  who  had 
run  away  from  her  master  twelve  years  ago,  and  had 
married  and  lived  ever  since  as  a  free  person.  She  was 
at  last  discovered,  taken  and  sold,  along  with  her  child,  and 
would  shortly  be  shipped  to  New  Orleans,  unless  her 
husband  could  raise  the  means  of  her  redemption,  which 
we  understood  he  was  endeavoring  to  do.  If  he  failed, 
they  are  lost  to  him  for  ever.  Another  melancholy  look¬ 
ing  woman  was  here  with  her  nine  children,  the  whole 
family  having  been  sold  away  from  their  husband  and 


SLAVE  TRADE. 


101 


father,  to  this  slave-dealer,  for  two  thousand  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  This  unfeeling  separation  is  but  the 
beginning  of  their  sorrows.  They  will,  in  all  probability, 
be  re-sold  at  New  Orleans,  scattered  and  divided,  until 
not  perhaps  two  of  them  are  left  together.  The  most 
able-bodied  negro  I  saw,  cost  the  slave-dealer  six  hundred 
and  eighty -five  dollars. 

Our  guide  told  us  that  they  sometimes  sent  from  this 
house  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  slaves  to  the 
South  in  a  year,  and  that  they  occasionally  had  three 
hundred  to  four  hundred  at  once  in  their  possession. 
That  the  trade  was  not  now  so  brisk,  but  that  prices  were 
rising.  The  return  and  profits  of  this  traffic  appear  to  be 
entirely  regulated  by  the  fluctuations  in  the  value  of  the 
cotton.  Women  are  worth  one-third  less  than  men.  But 
one  instance  of  complete  escape  ever  occurred  from  these 
premises,  though  some  of  the  slaves  were  occasionally 
trusted  out  in  the  fields.  He  showed  us  the  substantial 
clothing,  shoes,  &c.,  with  which  the  slaves  were  supplied 
when  sent  to  the  South  ;  a  practice,  I  fear,  enforced  more 
by  the  cupidity  of  the  buyers,  than  the  humanity  of  the 
seller.  Our  informant  stated,  in  answer  to  inquiries,  that 
by  the  general  testimony  of  the  slaves  purchased,  they 
were  treated  better  by  the  planters  than  was  the  case  ten 
years  ago.  He  also  admitted  the  evils  of  the  system,  and 
said,  with  apparent  sincerity,  he  wished  it  was  put  an 
end  to. 

We  went  afterwards  to  the  city  jail,  to  see  a  youth 
whose  case  I  had  heard  of  in  Delaware,  who  had  come  to 
Alexandria  on  board  a  vessel,  and  had  here  been  seized 
and  imprisoned  on  suspicion  of  being  a  slave,  not  having 
any  document  to  prove  his  freedom.  He  had  now  been 
9# 


102 


WASHINGTON. 


incarcerated  for  near  twelve  months,  and  though  admitted 
by  the  jailer  and  every  one  else  to  be  free,  he  was  about 
to  be  sold  in  a  few  days  into  slavery  for  a  term,  in  order 
to  pay  the  jail-fees,  amounting  to  eighty  dollars.  In  the 
evening  on  returning  to  Washington,  we  paid  a  visit  by 
appointment  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  ex-president  of  the 
United  States  ;  who  though  considerably  more  than  seventy 
years  of  age,  is  yet  one  of  the  most  assiduous  and  energetic 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  one  of  the 
most  influential  public  men  of  the  day.  To  this  must  be 
added  the  far  higher  praise  that  his  distinguished  powers 
are  employed  in  the  service  of  humanity,  truth,  and  justice. 
How  rare  is  it  to  witness  such  a  union  of  intellectual  and 
moral  greatness  1  Posterity  will  do  justice  to  his  fame, 
when  slavery  shall  exist  only  in  the  records  of  the  past, 
and  when  it  shall  be  related  with  wonder,  that  this  venera¬ 
ble  man,  standing  almost  alone  in  his  defence  of  the  right 
of  petition,  received  daily  anonymous  letters  threatening 
him  with  assassination.  He  received  us  very  kindly,  and 
in  the  course  of  conversation  expressed  how  much  impor¬ 
tance  he  attached  to  the  late  repeal  of  the  “nine  months 
law,”  in  the  State  of  New  York,  as  a  favorable  indication 
of  the  current  of  public  feeling.  He  did  not  appear 
sanguinely  to  anticipate  that  he  should  be  in  a  majority  on 
his  pending  motion  for  the  repeal  of  the  “gag.” 

One  of  the  principal  objects  of  my  visit  to  Washing¬ 
ton  was  to  present  an  Address  to  the  President,  from  the 
Committee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery 
Society.  In  the  course  of  my  inquiries  of  various  official 
persons,  members  of  Congress,  et  cet.,  I  found  that  to 
obtain  an  audience  for  the  express  purpose  would  be  very 
difficult,  as  no  member  of  Congress  appeared  willing  to 


THE  PRESIDENT. 


103 


undertake  the  unpopular  service  of  introducing  the  bearer 
of  such  a  document.  I  was  not  disposed  to  apply  to  the 
British  Ambassador,  who  on  some  occasions  had  shown  a 
want  of  sympathy  with  the  anti-slavery  cause.  I  found, 
however,  that  it  was  not  contrary  to  etiquette,  in  this 
country,  for  a  private  individual  to  address  a  note  to  the 
President,  to  which,  in  ordinary  courtesy,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  place,  he  has  a  right  to  expect  a  reply.  I 
would  remark,  however,  that  nothing  is  more  easy  than  to 
gain  access  to  the  President ;  but  I  felt  that  to  avail  my¬ 
self  of  those  facilities,  to  place  in  his  hands  a  document 
which  he  might  object  to  receive,  would  be  uncandid.  I 
therefore  addressed  a  note  to  him,  stating  that  I  was  the 
bearer  of  a  memorial  from  the  Committee  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Anti-slavery  Society,  signed  by  Thomas 
Clarkson,  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
in  which  I  said,  “  It  may,  perhaps,  be  right  to  state,  that 
the  memorial  refers  to  slavery  and  the  slave-trade  in  the 
United  States,  and  that  it  was  written  before  the  death  of 
General  Harrison  was  known  in  Europe.”  I  then  asked 
permission  to  present  it. 

To  this  I  received  no  reply.  We  were  afterwards  in¬ 
troduced  to  the  President,  by  a  member  of  Congress,  who 
evinced  an  anxiety  that  I  should  make  no  reference  to  the 
memorial ;  and  the  President,  on  his  part,  made  no  allu¬ 
sion  to  it,  or  to  my  letter  to  himself.  After  this  interview, 
we  proceeded  to  the  Senate,  but  it  had  risen  just  as  we  en¬ 
tered.  I  had  a  short  conversation  with  Henry  Clay,  who 
alluded  to  Joseph  John  Gurney’s  work  on  the  West  In¬ 
dies,  which  I  need  scarcely  add,  is  written  in  a  series  of 
letters  to  this  statesman.  He  said  that  the  recent  short 
crop  of  sugar  in  Jamaica  was  a  proof  that  the  author  had 


104 


HENRY  CLAY. 


been  misled  in  the  favorable  information  he  had  collected, 
and  also  that  this  deficiency  in  the  crop  was  a  proof  not 
only  of  the  idleness,  but  of  the  immorality  of  the  negroes. 

He  accused  my  companion,  John  G.  Whittier,  of  de¬ 
serting  him,  after  having  been  his  warm  friend  ;  and  on  J. 
W.’s  giving  his  reasons  for  so  doing,  he  complained  that 
the  abolitionists  improperly  interfered  with  the  affairs  of  the 
South,  though  he  made  an  exception  in  favor  of  the  Society 
of  Friends.  He  inquired  if  J.  G.  Whittier  was  a  “  Friend  ” 
in  regular  standing,  evidently  intimating  a  doubt  on  that 
point,  on  account  of  his  being  so  decided  an  abolitionist. 
The  praise  of  such  men  is  the  strongest  testimony  that 
could  be  adduced  to  the  declension  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  in  anti-slavery  zeal.  To  a  great  extent  I  fear 
their  sentiments  on  this  subject  have  been  held  tradition¬ 
ally  ;  and  that  in  many  cases,  they  have  not  only  done 
nothing  themselves,  but  by  example  and  precept  have  con¬ 
demned  the  activity  of  others  ;  1  trust,  however,  a  brighter 
day  in  regard  to  their  labors  is  approaching.  I  feel  disin¬ 
clined  to  take  leave  of  Henry  Clay,  without  some  an¬ 
imadversions  which,  on  the  public  character  of  a  public 
man,  I  may  offer  without  any  breach  of  propriety.  In 
early  life,  that  is  in  some  part  of  the  last  century,  he  sup¬ 
ported  measures  tending  to  the  “  eradication  of  slavery”  in 
Kentucky,  and  at  various  periods  since,  he  has  indulged  in 
cheap  declamation  against  slavery,  though  he  is  not  known 
to  have  committed  himself  by  a  solitary  act  of  manumis¬ 
sion.  On  the  contrary,  having  commenced  life  with  a 
single  slave,  he  has  industriously  increased  the  number  to 
upwards  of  seventy.  As  a  statesman,  his  conduct  on  this 
question  has  been  consistently  pro-slavery.  He  indefati- 
gably  negotiated  for  the  recovery  of  fugitive  slaves  from 


HENRY  CLAY. 


105 


Canada,  when  Secretary  of  State,  though  without  success. 
In  the  Senate  he  successfully  carried  through  the  admission 
of  Missouri  into  the  Union,  as  a  slave  State.  He  has  re¬ 
sisted  a  late  promising  movement  in  Kentucky  in  favor  of 
emancipation  ;  and  lastly,  in  one  of  his  most  elaborate 
speeches,  made  just  before  the  late  presidential  election, 
the  proceedings  of  the  abolitionists  were  reviewed  and  con¬ 
demned,  and  he  utterly  renounced  all  sympathy  with  their 
object.  By  way  of  apology  for  his  early  indiscretion,  he 
observes,  “  but  if  l  had  been  then,  or  were  now ,  a  citizen 
of  any  of  the  planting  States  —  the  southern  or  south¬ 
western  States  —  I  should  have  opposed,  and  would  con¬ 
tinue  to  oppose,  any  scheme  whatever  of  emancipation, 
gradual  or  immediate.” 

In  this  extract,  and  throughout  the  whole  speech, 
slavery  is  treated  as  a  pecuniary  question,  and  the  grand 
argument  against  abolition,  is  the  loss  of  property  that 
would  ensue.  Joseph  John  Gurney,  who  appears  to  have 
been  favorably  impressed  by  Henry  Clay’s  professions  of 
liberality,  his  courteous  bearing,  and  consummate  address, 
manifested  a  laudable  anxiety  that  so  influential  a  states¬ 
man  should  be  better  informed  on  the  point  on  which  he 
seemed  so  much  in  the  dark  ;  he  therefore  addressed  to 
him  his  excellent  “  Letters  on  the  West  Indies,”  of  which 
the  great  argument  is,  that  emancipation  has  been  followed 
by  great  prosperity  to  the  planters,  and  attended  with 
abundant  blessings,  temporal  and  spiritual,  to  the  other 
classes,  and  that  the  same  course  would  necessarily  be  fol¬ 
lowed  by  the  same  results  in  the  United  States.  He  has 
accumulated  proof  upon  proof  of  his  conclusions  supplied 
by  personal  and  extensive  investigation  in  the  British 
Colonies,  But  Henry  Clay  shews  no  sign  of  conviction. 


10  6 


HENRY  CLAY. 


Yet  though  he  made  to  us  the  absurd  remark,  already- 
quoted,  on  Joseph  John  Gurney’s  work,  I  have  too  high 
an  opinion  of  his  understanding  to  think  him  the  victim  of 
his  own  sophistry.  He  is  a  lawyer  and  a  statesman.  He 
is  accustomed  to  weigh  evidence,  and  to  discriminate  facts. 
1  have  little  doubt  that  all  my  valued  friend  would  have 
taught  him,  he  knew  already.  He  could  not  be  ignorant 
of  the  contrast  presented  by  his  own  State  of  Kentucky, 
and  the  adjoining  State  of  Ohio,  and  that  the  difference  is 
solely  owing  to  slavery.  If  J.  J.  Gurney  could  have 
shewn  that  abolition  would  soon  be  the  high  road  to  the 
President’s  chair,  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  would  have 
made  an  illustrious  convert  to  anti-slavery  principles. 
Henry  Clay’s  celebrated  speech  before  alluded  to,  was 
delivered  in  the  character  of  a  candidate  for  the  Presi¬ 
dency  just  before  the  last  election  —  it  was  prepared  with 
great  care,  and  rehearsed  beforehand  to  a  select  number  of 
his  political  friends.  The  whig  party  being  the  strongest, 
and  he  being  the  foremost  man  of  that  party,  he  might  be 
looked  upon  as  President-elect,  if  he  could  but  conciliate 
the  south,  by  wiping  off  the  cloud  of  abolitionism  that 
faintly  obscured  his  reputation.  He  succeeded  to  his 
heart’s  desire  in  his  immediate  object,  but  eventually,  by 
this  very  speech,  completely  destroyed  his  sole  chance  of 
success,  and  was  ultimately  withdrawn  from  the  contest. 
Thus  does  ambition  overleap  itself.* 

*  As  a  practical  commentary  on  Henry  Clay’s  professions  of  a 
regard  for  the  cause  of  human  liberty,  I  append  the  following 
advertisement,  which,  about  two  years  ago,  was  circulated  in 
Ohio  : 

“three  hundred  dollars  reward. 

“  Run  aicay  from  James  Kendall,  in  Bourbon  County,  Ky.,  to 
whom  he  was  hired  the  present  year,  on  Saturday  night  last,  the 


SLAVE-DEALING  ESTABLISHMENT. 


107 


On  leaving  the  Senate  House,  we  drove  to  a  slave- 
dealer’s  establishment,  near  at  hand,  and  within  sight  of 
the  Capitol.  I  have  given  some  particulars  of  this  visit 
elsewhere,  which  I  need  not  repeat.  I  cast  my  eye  on 
some  portraits  and  caricatures  of  abolitionists,  British  and 
American,  among  whom  Daniel  O’Connell  figured  in  as¬ 
sociation  with  Arthur  Tappan,  and  the  ex-president 
Adams.  The  young  man  in  charge  of  the  establishment 
began  to  explain  them,  for  our  amusement ;  on  which,  one 
of  my  companions  pointed  to  me.  and  informed  him  1  was 
an  English  abolitionist.  He  looked  uneasy  at  our  pres¬ 
ence,  and  evidently  desirous  we  should  not  prolong  our 
stay.  He  told  us  there  were  five  or  six  other  dealers  in 
the  city  who  had  no  buildings  of  their  own,  and  who  kept 

14th  instant,  a  negro  man,  named  Somerset,  about  twenty-six  years 
of  age,  five  feet,  seven  or  eight  inches  high,  of  a  dark  copper  color, 
having  a  deep  scar  on  his  right  cheek,  occasioned  by  a  burn,  stout 
made,  countenance  bold  and  determined,  and  voice  coarse.  His 
clothing  it  is  thought  unnecessary  to  describe,  as  he  may  have 
already  changed  it. 

“  ALSO, 

“From  E.  Muir,  of  the  same  county,  on  the  same  night,  (and 
supposed  to  have  gone  in  company,)  a  negro  man,  named  Bob, 
about  twenty-nine  years  old,  near  six  feet  high,  weighing  about  180 
or  90  pounds,  of  a  dark  copper  color,  of  a  pleasant  countenance, 
uncommonly  smooth  face,  and  a  remarkable  small  hand  for  a  negro  of 
his  size.  He  spells  and  reads  a  little.  His  clothing  was  a  greenish 
jean  coat  and  black  cloth  pantaloons. 

“  We  will  give  the  above  reward  for  the  delivery  of  said  negroes 
to  the  undersigned,  or  their  confinement  in  jail,  so  that  we  get 
them;  or  150  dollars  for  either  of  them,  if  taken  out  of  the  State, 
or  100  dollars  for  them,  or  50  dollars  for  either,  if  taken  out  of  the 
county,  and  in  the  State. 

“  Henry  Clay,  Senior, 

“  E.  Muir. 

“  Bourbon  Co.  Ky .,  Sept.  17,  1839.” 


108 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


their  slaves  here,  or  at  the  public  city  jail,  at  thirty-four 
cents  per  diem,  the  difference  in  comfort  being  wholly  on 
the  side  of  the  private  establishments. 

We  subsequently  visited  the  city  jail,  to  which  refer¬ 
ence  is  made  in  the  letter  below,  and  were  able  to  confirm 
this  statement  from  our  own  observation. 

We  left  for  Baltimore  this  afternoon.  Although  I  had 
not  succeeded  in  presenting  the  address  before-mentioned 
to  the  President,  I  little  regretted  the  failure,  being  con¬ 
vinced  that  it  would  not  be  less  generally  read  by  the 
public  on  that  account,  and  in  this  I  have  not  been  disap¬ 
pointed.  I  proceeded  at  once,  the  next  morning,  to  Phil¬ 
adelphia  ;  and  here  1  concluded  to  print  and  publish  the 
following  letter,  which,  was  sent,  through  the  post,  to  the 
President,  and  to  each  member  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives. 

“  To  the  Abolitionists  of  the  United  States. 

“  I  was  commissioned  by  the  committee  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  to  present  a  memorial 
from  them  to  your  President,  and  proceeded  to  Washing¬ 
ton,  a  few  days  ago,  accompanied  by  John  G.  Whittier, 
of  Massachusetts,  and  a  friend  from  the  State  of  Dela¬ 
ware. 

“  It  was  my  first  visit  to  the  seat  of  legislation  of  your 
great  republic.  On  our  arrival  we  went  to  the  House  of 
Representatives,  then  in  session.  A  member  from  Mary¬ 
land  was  speaking  on  our  entrance,  who  was  the  author  of 
a  resolution,  which  had  been  carried  in  a  former  Congress, 
excluding  nearly  three  millions  of  your  countrymen,  on 
whom  every  species  of  wrong  and  outrage  is  committed 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


109 


with  impunity,  from  all  right  of  petition,  either  by  them 
selves  or  their  friends.  He  was  advocating  the  re-enact¬ 
ment  of  this  very  resolution  for  the  present  Congress,  and 
stated  that  he  had  a  letter  from  your  President  approving 
the  measure.  Although  I  believe  I  do  not  speak  too 
strongly  when  I  say  an  attempt  to  enforce  such  a  resolu¬ 
tion  by  any  crowned  head  in  the  civilized  world,  would  be 
inevitably  followed  by  a  revolution,  yet  it  seemed  evident 
that  no  small  portion  of  your  present  members  were  in 
favor  of  it.  It  was  with  no  ordinary  emotion  that  I  saw 
the  venerable  ex-president  Adams  at  his  post,  nobly  con¬ 
tending  against  this  violation  of  the  rights  of  his  country¬ 
men,  and  I  could  not  but  regret  that,  with  one  or  two  ex¬ 
ceptions,  he  appeared  to  find  little  support  from  his 
younger  colleagues  of  the  free  States. 

“  The  same  day  we  visited  one  of  the  well-known  slave¬ 
trading  establishments  at  Alexandria.  On  passing  to  it 
we  were  shewn  the  costly  mansion  of  its  late  proprietor, 
who  has  lately  retired  on  a  large  property  acquired  by  the 
sale  of  native  born  Americans.  In  an  open  enclosure, 
with  high  walls  which  it  is  impossible  to  scale,  with  a 
strong  iron-barred  door,  and  in  which  we  were  told  that 
there  were  sometimes  from  three  to  four  hundred  persons 
crowded,  we  saw  about  fifty  slaves.  Amongst  the  number 
thus  incarcerated  was  a  woman  with  nine  children,  who 
had  been  cruelly  separated  from  their  husband  and  father, 
and  would  probably  be  shortly  sent  to  New  Orleans,  where 
they  would  never  be  likely  to  see  him  again,  and  where 
the  mother  may  be  for  ever  severed  from  every  one  of  her 
children,  and  each  of  them  sold  to  a  separate  master. 
From  thence  we  went  to  the  Alexandria  city  jail,  where 
we  saw  a  young  man  who  was  admitted  to  be  free  even 
10 


110 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


bv  the  jailer  himself.  He  had  been  seized  and  committed 
in  the  hope  that  he  might  prove  a  slave,  and  that  the  party 
detaining  him  would  receive  a  reward.  He  had  been 
kept  there  nearly  twelve  months  because  he  could  not  pay 
the  jail  fees,  and  instead  of  obtaining  any  redress  for  false 
imprisonment,  was  about  to  be  sold  into  slavery  for  a  term 
to  reimburse  these  fees. 

“  The  next  morning  I  was  desirous  of  handing  to  the 
President  the  memorial,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

Address  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  from 
the  Committee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti- 
Slavery  Society. 

“ ‘  Sir,  —  As  the  head  of  a  great  Confederacy  of 
States,  justly  valuing  their  free  constitution  and  political 
organization,  and  tenacious  of  their  rights  and  their  char¬ 
acter,  the  Committee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti¬ 
slavery  Society,  through  their  esteemed  coadjutor  and 
representative,  Joseph  Sturge,  would  respectfully  approach 
you  in  behalf  of  millions  of  their  fellow-men,  held  in  bond¬ 
age  in  the  United  States.  Those  millions  are  denied,  not 
only  the  immunities  enjoyed  by  the  citizens  of  your  great 
republic  generally,  and  of  the  equal  privileges  and  the  im¬ 
partial  protection  of  the  civil  law,  but  are  deprived  of 
their  personal  rights,  so  that  they  cease  to  be  regarded 
and  treated,  under  your  otherwise  noble  institutions,  as 
men,  except  in  the  commission  of  crime,  when  the  ut¬ 
most  rigor  of  your  penal  statutes  is  invoked  and  enforced 
against  them  ;  but  are  reduced  to  the  degraded  condition 
of  “chattels  personal  in  the  hands  of  their  owners  and 
possessors,  to  all  intents ,  constructions ,  and  purposes, 
whatsoever .” 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


Ill 


44  4  This  is  the  language  and  the  law  of  slavery  ;  and 
under  this  law,  guarded  with  jealousy  by  their  political  in¬ 
stitutions,  the  slaveholders  of  the  South  rest  their  claims  to 
property  in  man.  But,  sir,  there  are  claims  anterior  to  all 
human  laws,  and  superior  to  all  political  institutions,  which 
are  immutable  in  their  nature,  —  claims  which  are  the 
birthright  of  every  human  being,  of  every  clime,  and  of 
every  color, — claims  which  God  has  conferred,  and  which 
man  cannot  destroy  without  sacrilege,  or  infringe  without 
sin.  Personal  liberty  is  among  these,  the  greatest  and 
best,  for  it  is  the  root  of  all  other  rights,  the  conservative 
principle  of  human  associations,  the  spring  of  public  vir¬ 
tues,  and  essential  to  national  strength  and  greatness. 

44  4  The  monstrous  and  wicked  assumption  of  power  by 
man,  over  his  fellow  man,  which  slavery  implies,  is  alike 
abhorrent  to  the  moral  sense  of  mankind  ;  to  the  immu¬ 
table  principles  of  justice  ;  to  the  righteous  laws  of  God  ; 
and  to  the  benevolent  principles  of  the  gospel.  It  is, 
therefore,  indignantly  repudiated  by  all  the  fundamental 
laws  of  all  truly  enlightened  and  civilized  communities, 
and  by  none  more  emphatically  than  by  that  over  which, 
Sir,  it  is  your  honor  to  preside. 

44  4  The  great  doctrine,  that  God  hath  44  created  all  men 
equal,  and  endowed  them  with  certain  inalienable  rights, 
and  that  amongst  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness,”  is  affirmed  in  your  Declaration  of  Independ¬ 
ence,  and  justified  in  the  theory  of  your  constitutional 
law's.  But  there  is  a  stain  upon  your  glory  ;  slavery,  in 
its  most  abject  and  revolting  form,  pollutes  your  soil ;  the 
wailings  of  slaves  mingle  with  your  songs  of  liberty  ;  and 
the  clank  of  their  chains  is  heard,  in  horrid  discord  with 
the  chorus  of  your  triumphs. 


112 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


“  ‘  The  records  of  your  States  are  not  less  distinguished 
by  their  wise  provisions  for  securing  the  order  and  main¬ 
taining  the  institutions  of  your  country,  than  by  their  in¬ 
genious  devices  for  riveting  the  chains,  and  perpetuating 
the  degradation  of  your  colored  brethren  ;  their  education 
is  branded  as  a  crime  against  the  State  —  their  freedom  is 
dreaded  as  a  blasting  pestilence  —  the  bare  suggestion  of 
their  emancipation  is  proscribed  as  treason  to  the  cause  of 
American  independence. 

“ f  These  things  are  uttered  in  sorrow  ;  for  the  com¬ 
mittee  deeply  deplore  the  flagrant  inconsistency,  so  glar¬ 
ingly  displayed  between  the  lofty  principles  embodied  in 
the  great  charter  of  your  liberties,  and  the  evil  practices 
which  have  been  permitted  to  grow  up  under  it,  to  mar 
its  beauty  and  impair  its  strength.  But  it  is  not  on  these 
grounds  alone,  or  chiefly,  that  they  deplore  the  existence 
of  slavery  in  the  United  States.  Manifold  as  are  the  evils 
which  flow  from  it  —  dehumanizing  as  are  its  tendencies 
—  fearful  as  its  reaction  confessedly  is  on  its  supporters, — 
the  reproach  of  its  existence  does  not  terminate  on  the  in¬ 
stitutions  which  gave  it  birth  :  the  sublime  principles  and 
benign  spirit  of  Christianity  are  dishonored  by  it.  In  the 
light  of  Divine  Truth  it  stands  revealed,  in  all  its  hideous 
deformity,  a  crime  against  God,  —  a  daring  usurpation  of 
the  prerogative  and  authority  of  the  Most  High  !  It  is  as 
a  violation  of  His  righteous  laws,  an  outrage  on  His  glo¬ 
rious  attributes,  a  renunciation  of  the  claims  of  His  blessed 
gospel,  that  they  especially  deplore  the  countenance  and 
support  it  receives  among  you  ;  and,  in  the  spirit  of 
Christian  love  and  fraternal  solicitude,  would  counsel  its 
immediate  and  complete  overthrow,  as  a  solemn  and  im¬ 
perative  duty,  the  performance  of  which  no  sordid  reasons 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


113 


should  be  permitted  to  retard  —  no  political  considerations 
prevent.  Slavery  is  a  sin  against  God,  and  ought,  there¬ 
fore,  to  be  abolished. 

“  ‘  The  utter  extinction  of  slavery,  and  its  sister  abom¬ 
ination,  the  internal  slave-trade  of  the  United  States, 
second  only  in  horror  and  extent  to  the  African,  and  in 
some  of  its  features  even  more  revolting,  can  only  be 
argued,  by  the  philanthropy  of  this  country,  on  the  ab¬ 
stract  principles  of  moral  and  religious  duty ;  and  to  those 
principles  the  people  of  your  great  republic  are  pledged 
on  the  side  of  freedom  beyond  every  nation  in  the  world  1 

“‘The  negro,  by  nature  our  equal,  made  like  our¬ 
selves  in  the  image  of  his  Creator,  gifted  by  the  same 
intelligence,  impelled  by  the  same  passions  and  affections, 
and  redeemed  by  the  same  Savior,  is  reduced  by  cu¬ 
pidity  and  oppression  below  the  level  of  the  brute,  spoiled 
of  his  humanity,  plundered  of  his  rights,  and  often  hurried 
to  a  premature  grave,  the  miserable  victim  of  avarice  and 
heedless  tyranny !  Men  have  presumptuously  dared  to 
wrest  from  their  fellows  the  most  precious  of  their  rights — 
to  intercept  as  far  as  they  may  the  bounty  and  grace  of 
the  Almighty — to  close  the  door  to  their  intellectual 
progress  —  to  shut  every  avenue  to  their  moral  and  re¬ 
ligious  improvement,  to  stand  between  them  and  their 
Maker  !  It  is  against  this  crime  the  committee  protest  as 
men  and  as  Christians,  and  earnestly  but  respectfully  call 
upon  you,  Sir,  to  use  the  influence  with  which  you  are 
invested,  to  bring  it  to  a  peaceful  and  speedy  close  ;  and, 
may  you  in  closing  your  public  career,  in  the  latest  hours 
of  your  existence  on  earth,  be  consoled  with  the  reflection 
that  you  have  not  despised  the  afflictions  of  the  afflicted, 
but  that  faithful  to  the  trust  of  your  high  stewardship,  you 
10* 


114 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


have  been  “just,  ruling  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,”  that  you 
have  executed  judgment  for  the  oppressed,  and  have 
aided  in  the  deliverance  of  your  country  from  its  greatest 
crime,  and  its  chiefest  reproach. 

“  £  On  behalf  of  the  Committee, 

Thomas  Clarkson. 

“‘British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  for  the  Abolition  of 

Slavery  and  the  Slave-trade  throughout  the  world. 

“  ‘27,  New  Broad  Street ,  London ,  March  5th,  1841.’ 

“  I  thought  it  most  candid  to  address  a  letter  to  the 
President  informing  him  of  the  character  of  the  foregoing 
memorial,  rather  than  take  advantage  of  a  merely  formal 
introduction  to  present  it,  without  a  previous  explanation. 
To  this  letter  no  reply  was  received,  and  no  allusion  was 
made  to  it  by  the  President  at  a  subsequent  introduction, 
which  we  had  to  him.  It  may  be  proper  to  mention  in 
this  connection,  that  memorials  of  a  similar  character, 
bearing  upon  slavery  and  the  slave-trade,  signed  by  the 
venerable  Clarkson,  have  been  presented  to  different 
Heads  of  Governments,  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  and 
have  been  uniformly  received  with  marked  respect. 

“  Previous  to  our  departure,  we  visited  a  private 
slave-trading  establishment  in  the  city,  and  looked  in  upon 
a  group  of  human  beings  herded  together  like  cattle  for 
the  market,  within  an  enclosure  of  high  brick  walls 
surrounding  the  jail.  The  young  man  in  attendance, 
informed  us  that  there  were  five  or  six  other  regular  slave- 
dealers  in  the  city,  who,  having  no  jails  of  their  own, 
either  placed  their  slaves  at  this  establishment,  or  in  the 
public  city  prison.  The  former  was  generally  preferred, 
on  account  of  its  superior  accommodations  in  respect  to 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


115 


food  and  lodging.  On  my  making  some  remarks  to  the 
young  man  on  the  nature  of  his  occupation,  he  signifi¬ 
cantly,  and  as  I  think,  very  justly  replied,  that  he  knew 
of  no  reasons  for  condemning  slave-traders,  which  did  not 
equally  apply  to  slave-holders.  You  will  bear  in  mind 
that  this  was  said  within  view  of  the  Capitol,  where 
slave-holders  control  your  national  legislation,  and  within 
a  few  minutes’  walk  of  that  mansion  where  a  slave-holder 
sits  in  the  presidential  chair,  placed  there  by  your  votes ; 
and  it  is  certainly  no  marvel,  that,  with  such  high  exam¬ 
ples  in  his  favor,  the  humble  slave-dealer  of  the  District 
should  feel  himself  in  honorable  company,  and  really 
regard  his  occupation  as  one  of  respectability  and  public 
utility. 

“  From  thence  we  proceeded  to  the  city  prison,  an 
old  and  loathsome  building,  where  we  examined  two 
ranges  of  small  stone  cells,  in  which  were  a  large  number 
of  colored  prisoners.  We  noticed  five  or  six  in  a  single 
cell,  barely  large  enough  for  a  solitary  tenant,  under  a  heat 
as  intense  as  that  of  the  tropics.  The  keeper  stated  that 
in  rainy  seasons  the  prison  was  uncomfortably  wet.  The 
place  had  to  us  a  painful  interest,  from  the  fact  that  here 
Dr.  Crandall,  a  citizen  of  the  free  States,  was  confined 
until  his  health  was  completely  broken  down,  and  was 
finally  released  only  to  find  a  grave,  for  the  crime  of  hav¬ 
ing  circulated  a  pamphlet  on  emancipation,  written  by  one 
of  the  friends  who  accompanied  me.*  On  inquiry  of  the 

*  On  being  released  from  prison,  Dr.  Crandall  went  to  Kingston, 
Jamaica,  to  recruit  his  health.  A  gentleman  of  that  city,  W. 
Wemyss  Anderson,  found  him  in  nis  lodgings,  solitary  and  friend¬ 
less,  and  rapidly  sinking  under  his  disease.  He  took  him,  though 
a  perfect  stranger,  into  his  own  house ;  and  the  last  days  of  Dr. 


116 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


keeper,  he  informed  us  that  slaves  were  admitted  into  his 
cells,  and  kept  for  their  owners  at  the  rate  of  thirty-four 
cents  per  day,  and  that  transfers  of  them  from  one  master 
to  another  sometimes  took  place  during  their  confinement ; 
thus  corroborating  the  testimony  of  the  keeper  of  the 
private  jail  before  mentioned,  that  this  city  prison,  the 
property  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  for  the 
rebuilding  of  which,  a  large  sum  of  your  money  has  been 
appropriated,  is  made  use  of  by  the  dealers  in  human 
beings  as  a  place  of  deposit  and  market ;  and  thus  you,  in 
common  with  your  fellow  citizens,  are  made  indirect  par¬ 
ticipators  in  a  traffic  equal  in  atrocity  to  that  foreign  trade, 
the  suppression  of  which,  to  use  the  words  of  your  Presi¬ 
dent  in  his  late  message,  ‘  is  required  by  the  public  honor, 
and  the  promptings  of  humanity.’ 

“  As  one  who  has  devoted  much  of  his  humble  labors  to 
the  cause  you  wish  to  promote,  I  perhaps  shall  be  excused 
for  thus  stating  these  facts  to  you,  as  they  all  passed  be¬ 
fore  my  personal  observation  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours. 
I  shall  deem  it  right  to  publish  them  in  Europe,  where  1 
am  about  shortly  to  return.  Recollect,  they  all  occurred 
and  exist  within  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  that  those 
who  elect  the  legislators  who  uphold  the  slave  system,  are 
justly  responsible  for  it  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man.  Is 
it  not  all  the  natural  consequence  of  your  electing  slave- 


Crandall  were  soothed  by  the  kind  sympathy  and  attentions  of  a 
Christian  family.  It  was  also  manifest,  that  he  enjoyed  the  sunshine 
of  inward  peace,  and  the  rich  consolations  of  the  gospel.  His  kind 
host,  whom  I  count  it  a  privilege  to  call  my  friend,  obeyed,  in  this 
instance,  the  apostolic  injunction,  and  experienced  the  consequent 
reward,  “  Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers,  for  thereby  some 
have  entertained  angels  unawares.” 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


117 


holders  and  their  abettors  to  the  highest  offices  of  your 
State  and  nation  ?  Some  of  your  most  intelligent  citizens 
have  given  it  as  their  opinion  that  fully  two-thirds  of  the 
whole  population  of  the  United  States  are  in  favor  of  the 
abolition  of  slavery;  and  my  own  observation,  since  I 
landed  on  these  shores,  not  only  confirms  this  opinion,  but 
has  convinced  me  that  there  is  a  very  rapid  accession  to 
their  numbers  daily  taking  place ;  and  yet  we  have  the 
extraordinary  fact  exhibited  to  the  world,  that  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  slave-holders  —  a  large  pro¬ 
portion  of  whom,  bankrupt  in  fortune  and  reputation,  have 
involved  many  of  the  North  in  their  disgrace  and  ruin  — 
hold  in  mental  bondage  the  whole  population  of  this  great 
republic,  who  permit  themselves  to  be  involved  in  the 
common  disgrace  of  presenting  a  spectacle  of  national  in¬ 
consistency  altogether  without  a  parallel.  I  confess  that, 
although  an  admirer  of  many  of  the  institutions  of  your 
country,  and  deeply  lamenting  the  evils  of  my  own  gov¬ 
ernment,  I  find  it  difficult  to  reply  to  those  who  are 
opposed  to  any  extension  of  the  political  rights  of  Eng¬ 
lishmen,  when  they  point  to  America  and  say,  that  where 
all  have  a  control  over  the  legislation  but  those  who  are 
guilty  of  a  dark  skin,  slavery  and  the  slave-trade  remain 
not  only  unmitigated,  but  continue  to  extend  ;  and  that 
while  there  is  an  onward  movement  in  favor  of  its  extinc¬ 
tion,  not  only  in  England  and  France,  but  even  in  Cuba 
and  Brazil,  American  legislators  cling  to  this  enormous 
evil,  without  attempting  to  relax  or  mitigate  its  horrors. 
Allow  me,  therefore,  to  appeal  to  you  by  every  motive 
which  attaches  you  to  your  country,  seriously  to  consider 
how  far  you  are  accountable  for  this  state  of  things,  by 
want  of  a  faithful  discharge  of  those  duties  for  which  every 


118 


LETTER  TO  AMERICAN  ABOLITIONISTS. 


member  of  a  republican  government  is  so  deeply  responsi¬ 
ble  ;  and  may  I  not  express  the  hope  that,  on  all  future 
occasions,  you  will  take  care  to  promote  the  election  of 
none  as  your  representatives  who  will  not  practically  act 
upon  the  principle  that  in  every  clime,  and  of  every  color, 
c  all  men  are  equal  ?  ’ 

“  Your  sincere  friend, 

“  Joseph  Sturge. 

“  Philadelphia,  Qth  Month  1th,  1842.” 

This  letter  was  extensively  reprinted,  not  only  in  the 
anti-slavery  but  in  pro-slavery  newspapers,  both  in  the 
North  and  South.  In  the  numerous  angry  comments 
upon  it,  no  attempt  that  has  come  to  my  knowledge  was 
made  to  deny  any  one  of  my  statements.  One  of  the 
papers  intimates  that  the  vote  by  which  the  house  soon 
after  refused  to  adopt  a  specific  and  exclusive  rule  against 
abolition  petitions,  was  brought  about  by  “  the  sinister 
influence  of  Mr.  Sturge.”  1  need  not  add  how  happy  I 
should  have  been  to  have  possessed  the  influence  with 
which  this  writer  has  so  liberally  invested  me,  and  that  I 
should  have  regarded  it  as  a  talent  to  be  employed  and 
improved  to  the  very  utmost. 

I  spent  from  the  5th  to  the  11th  of  the  Sixth  Month, 
(June)  in  Philadelphia  and  the  vicinity,  during  which 
time,  I  made  numerous  calls,  and  met  several  large  parties 
in  private. 

During  this  stay,  in  company  with  John  G.  Whittier, 
I  paid  a  visit  to  my  excellent  friend,  Abraham  L.  Pen- 
nock,  at  his  residence  in  Haverford,  Delaware  county, 
about  ten  miles  from  the  city.  He  is  an  influential  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  until  recently  he  has 


I 


FRIENDS  AS  ELECTORS. 


119 


been  a  resident  in  the  city.  He  has,  for  many  years, 
been  an  uncompromising  abolitionist,  and  an  active  mem¬ 
ber  and  officer  of  anti-slavery  societies ;  yet  he  appears  to 
enjoy  the  respect  and  confidence  not  only  of  his  anti¬ 
slavery  associates,  but  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  the 
community  generally.  I  found  him  a  warm  advocate,  in 
practice  as  well  as  theory,  of  entire  abstinence  from  the 
products  of  slave  labor,  as  well  as  of  independent  political 
action  on  the  part  of  abolitionists.  He  expressed  much 
regret  that  he  was  unable  to  attend  the  General  Anti- 
Slavery  Convention,  in  London,  and  gave  his  cordial 
approbation  to  its  proceedings.* 

We  reluctantly  bade  farewell  to  our  kind  friend  and 
bis  interesting  family,  all  the  members  of  which  appear  to 
share  his  zeal  and  untiring  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the 
oppressed,  and  returned  to  our  lodgings  in  the  city.  Even 
now  I  look  back  to  this  visit  as  among  the  most  grateful 
recollections  of  my  sojourn  in  the  United  States. 

I  may  mention,  in  this  connection,  that  A.  L.  Pennock, 
as  well  as  others  with  whom  I  conversed  on  the  subject, 
spoke  with  much  regret  of  the  want  of  faithfulness  on  the 
part  of  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  in  maintaining 
their  testimony  against  slavery,  while  exercising  their  civil 
rights  as  citizens  and  electors.  From  all  I  could  learn,  I 
have  been  led  to  fear  that  “  Friends  ”  in  the  United  States, 
with  few  exceptions,  are  in  the  practice  of  voting  for 
public  officers,  without  reference  to  their  sentiments  on  the 
important  subject  of  slavery.  At  the  late  Presidential 
election  it  is  very  evident  that  the  great  body  of  “Friends” 
who  took  any  part  in  it,  voted  for  John  Tyler,  the  slave¬ 
holder. 


See  Appendix  H. 


120  thomas  Clarkson’s  letter. 

Among  the  active  friends  of  emancipation,  who  occupy 
a  high  station  in  our  society,  I  can  scarcely  omit  mention¬ 
ing  Enoch  Lewis,  of  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  whose 
talents  and  literary  acquirements,  devoted  as  they  are,  to 
the  maintenance  and  promulgation  of  the  principles  and 
Christian  testimonies  of  our  religious  society,  deservedly 
command  a  high  degree  of  respect. 

Among  the  members  of  the  society  which  have  sep¬ 
arated  from  “friends”  in  Philadelphia  and  elsewhere,  I  met 
with  many  warm  and  steady  friends  of  emancipation,  some 
of  whom  have  proved  their  sincerity  by  great  sacrifices. 
Amongst  these  I  cannot  omit  mentioning  James  and  Lu- 
cretia  Mott,  James  Wood,  Dr.  Isaac  Parish,  and  Thomas 
Earle,  of  this  city. 

1  republished  in  Philadelphia,  with  the  permission  of 
the  author,  in  two  separate  pamphlets,  for  distribution 
amongst  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed,  “  A  Letter  to 
the  Clergy  of  various  Denominations,  and  to  the  Slave¬ 
holding  Planters  in  the  Southern  parts  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  by  Thomas  Clarkson.”  This  remark¬ 
able  production  was  written  after  its  venerable  author  had 
attained  his  eightieth  year,  and  has  been  pronounced  by 
a  very  competent  judge  the  most  vigorous  production  of 
his  pen.  As  its  circulation  had  but  just  commenced  when 
I  left  the  United  States,  I  could  not  judge  of  the  effect 
produced  by  this  energetic  appeal  from  one  whose  name 
must  command  respect,  even  from  the  slave-holders ;  but 
I  have  since  been  informed  it  has  been  read  with  interest 
and  attention. 

I  had  several  conferences  with  “  friends  ”  who  were 
interested  in  the  cause,  to  discuss  the  best  mode  of  enga¬ 
ging  the  members  of  the  Society  to  unite  their  efforts  on 


SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


121 


behalf  of  the  oppressed  and  suffering  slaves  ;  and  though 
no  immediate  steps  were  resolved  on.  yet  I  found  so  much 
good  feeling  in  many  of  them,  that  l  cannot  but  entertain 
a  hope,  that  fruit  will  hereafter  appear.  I  had  spent 
much  of  my  time  and  labor  in  Philadelphia,  particularly 
among  that  numerous  and  influential  body  with  whom  I 
am  united  in  a  common  bond  of  religious  belief,  and  I 
trust  of  Christian  affection.  Of  the  kindness  and  hospi¬ 
tality  I  experienced  I  shall  ever  retain  a  grateful  recol¬ 
lection  ;  yet  I  finally  took  my  leave  of  this  city,  under 
feelings  of  sorrow  and  depression  that  so  many  of  the  very 
class  of  Christian  professors  who  once  took  the  lead  in 
efforts  for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  efforts  evidently  at¬ 
tended  with  the  favor  and  sanction  of  the  Most  High, 
should  now  be  discouraging,  and  holding  back  their  mem- 
bers  from  taking  part  in  so  righteous  a  cause.  Among 
the  warmest  friends  of  the  slave,  sound  both  in  feeling  and 
sentiment,  are  a  few  venerable  individuals  who  are  now 
standing  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  and  whose  places, 
among  the  present  generation,  I  could  not  conceal  from 
myself,  there  were  but  few  fully  prepared  to  occupy. 
I  had  found  in  many  Friends  much  passive  anti-slavery 
feeling,  and  was  to  some  extent  cheered  by  the  discovery. 
May  a  due  sense  of  their  responsibility  rest  upon  every 
follower  of  Christ,  to  remember  them  that  are  in  bonds, 
and  under  affliction,  not  only  with  a  passive,  but  with  an 
active  and  self-denying  sympathy,  a  sympathy  that  makes 
common  cause  with  its  object. 

Apart  from  the  fact,  that  Philadelphia  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  cities  in  the  world,  to  a  member  of  the  So¬ 
ciety  of  Friends  it  must  ever  be  an  object  of  peculiar  in¬ 
terest.  Here  William  Penn  made  his  great  experiment 

11 


122 


WILLIAM  PENN. 


of  a  Christian  government.  Here,  to  the  annual  assem¬ 
blies  of  Friends,  came  Warner  Mifflin,  and  John  Wool- 
man,  and  James  Pemberton,  and  George  Dillwyn,  and 
other  worthies  of  the  past,  who  have  now  gone  from  works 
to  rewards.  A  few  miles  distant,  in  Frankford,  is  still  to 
be  seen  the  residence  of  the  excellent  Thomas  Chalkley. 
Here  Benezet  exemplified,  in  the  simplicity,  humility,  and 
untiring  benevolence  of  his  daily  life,  the  lessons  inculca¬ 
ted  in  his  writings.  And  here,  at  this  day,  are  a  larger 
number  of  members  of  our  religious  society  than  can  be 
found  congregated  elsewhere,  within  an  equal  space  of 
territory.  They  are,  in  general,  in  easy  circumstances, 
many  of  them  wealthy,  and  occupying  a  high  rank  in  the 
community. 

Who  can  recur,  without  a  lively  feeling  of  interest,  to 
the  hopes  and  prayers  of  the  benevolent  founder  of  the 
city,  as  expressed  in  affecting  terms  in  his  farewell  letter, 
written  as  he  was  about  taking  his  final  departure  for 
England. 

“  And  thou,  Philadelphia,  the  virgin  settlement  of  this 
province,  named  before  thou  wert  born,  what  love,  what 
care,  what  service,  and  what  travail  has  there  been  to 
bring  thee  forth,  and  preserve  thee  from  such  as  would 
defile  thee  !  Oh,  that  thou  mayest  be  kept  from  the  evil 
that  would  overwhelm  thee  !  that  faithful  to  the  God  of 
Mercies,  in  a  life  of  righteousness,  thou  mayest  be  pre¬ 
served  to  the  end  !  ” 

On  the  11th,  with  John  G.  Whittier,  I  left  for  New 
York,  and  the  next  day  we  proceeded  by  steam  packet  to 
Newport,  on  Rhode  Island,  to  attend  the  New  England 
yearly  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  which  was  to  be 
held  the  next  week,  We  arrived  about  seven  o’clock  in 


SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


123 


the  morning.  I  found  the  change  of  climate  particularly 
refreshing  and  agreeable.  During  the  last  fortnight,  the 
range  of  the  thermometer  had  frequently  reached  94°  or 
96°  in  the  shade  :  a  tropical  heat,  without  those  allevia¬ 
tions  which  render  the  heat  of  the  tropics  not  only  tolera¬ 
ble,  but  sometimes  delightful.  In  Rhode  Island,  the  cli¬ 
mate,  while  we  were  there,  was  almost  as  temperate  as  an 
English  summer. 

Some  parts  of  the  New  England  States  are  much  re¬ 
sorted  to  by  southern  families  of  wealth  ;  and  their  annual 
migrations  have  the  effect  of  materially  adding  to  the  vast 
amount  of  complicated  pro-slavery  interests  which  exist  in 
the  free  States,  as  well  as  of  diffusing  pro-slavery  opinions 
and  feelings  throughout  the  entire  community.  We  may 
hope  this  current  will  soon  set  in  the  opposite  direction. 
The  season  was  too  early  for  the  arrival  of  these  visitors, 
an  l  the  hotels  were  generally  filled  with  “Friends,”  col¬ 
lected  from  near  and  distant  places,  to  attend  the  yearly 
meeting.  There  were  upwards  of  a  hundred  boarding  at 
the  same  house  with  ourselves.  Soon  after  our  arrival  I 
addressed  a  letter,  making  the  same  application  for  the  use 
of  the  meeting  house  for  my  friend,  John  Candler,  who 
was  also  here,  and  myself,  which  had  been  complied  with 
at  New  York,  forwarding  at  the  same  time  my  credentials. 
My  request,  however,  in  this  instance  was  not  granted. 
Yet  there  was  plainly  a  willingness  on  the  part  of  many  to 
receive  information,  and  we  caused  it  to  be  known  that  we 
should  be  at  home  at  our  hotel,  on  the  evening  of  the  six¬ 
teenth.  About  two  hundred  friends  assembled,  and  ap¬ 
peared  interested  in  a  brief  outline  of  the  state  and  pros¬ 
pects  of  the  cause  in  Europe  which  I  endeavored  to  give 
them. 


124 


SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


The  subject  of  slavery  was  brought  before  the  yearly 
meeting  by  a  proposition  from  one  of  its  subordinate,  or 
“  quarterly  meetings,”  to  encourage  more  action,  on  the 
part  of  the  society,  for  its  abolition.  A  proposal  was  im¬ 
mediately  made,  and  assented  to  without  discussion,  that 
the  consideration  of  it  should  be  referred  to  a  committee. 
On  the  reading  of  the  address  on  slavery  from  the  London 
yearly  meeting,  it  was,  in  like  manner,  immediately  pro¬ 
posed  and  agreed  to,  that  it  should  be  referred  to  the  same 
committee.  At  a  subsequent  sitting,  this  committee  re¬ 
ported,  that  they  should  recommend  the  whole  subject  to 
be  left  under  the  care  of  their  “Meeting  for  Sufferings,” 
which  was  adopted.  With  the  exception  of  reading  the 
documents,  and  going  through  the  necessary  forms  of  busi¬ 
ness,  these  proceedings  passed  almost  in  silence  ;  yet,  in 
the  several  epistles  drawn  up  to  be  forwarded  to  the  other 
yearly  meetings,  allusion  was  made  to  the  deep  exercise 
of  Friends  at  this  meeting,  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and 
their  strong  desire  and  wish  to  encourage  others  to  embrace 
every  right  opening  for  promoting  its  abolition  ;  with  a 
plain  intimation,  however,  in  their  epistle  to  Great  Britain, 
of  their  disapproval  of  Friends  uniting  with  any  of  the  anti¬ 
slavery  associations  of  the  day.  These  passages  in  the 
epistles  passed  without  remark  or  objection.  The  Meet¬ 
ing  for  Sufferings,  of  Rhode  Island,  has  thus  virtually  un¬ 
dertaken  to  do,  or  at  least  to  originate,  all  that  is  to  be 
done,  during  the  present  year,  by  Friends  of  New  Eng¬ 
land,  to  help  the  helpless,  and  to  relieve  the  oppressed 
slaves.  Sincerely  do  I  desire,  that  it  may  not  incur  the 
responsibility  of  neglecting  so  solemn  a  charge.  I  subse¬ 
quently  met,  on  board  the  steamer  in  which  we  left  New¬ 
port,  many  members  of  this  body  ;  with  one  of  whom  I 


LAWS  OF  RHODE  ISLAND. 


125 


had  some  conversation,  in  the  presence  of  other  Friends, 
to  whom  I  felt  it  right  to  state,  that  the  declarations  of 
sympathy  for  the  slaves,  in  the  epistles  which  had  been 
sent  out,  were  stronger,  in  my  judgment,  than  was  justi¬ 
fied  by  any  thing  which  had  been  expressed,  or  had  been 
manifested,  in  the  Yearly  Meeting.  This  conviction  I  yet 
retain.  I  afterwards  obtained  some  authentic  extracts 
from  the  laws  of  Rhode  Island,  affecting  the  people  of 
color,  and  under  which  slavery  is  very  distinctly  recog¬ 
nized  and  sanctioned,  even  in  thisyfee  State.  I  felt  it  my 
duty  to  forward  a  copy  of  these  to  the  “  Meeting  for  Suf¬ 
ferings,”  accompanied  by  the  following  letter : — 

u  To  the  Meeting  for  Sufferings  of  New  England 
Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends. 

“  On  passing  through  Providence,  from  the  Yearly 
Meeting  at  Rhode  Island,  a  solicitor  of  that  place  kindly 
furnished  me  with  the  annexed  extracts  from  the  laws  of 
the  State  of  Rhode  Island.  I  thought  it  best  to  send  a 
copy  to  you,  as  it  is  probable  some  members  of  your  meet¬ 
ing  may  not  be  aware  of  their  precise  nature  ;  and  it  is  a 
source  of  regret  to  me,  and  I  know  it  will  be  so  to  my 
friends  in  England,  to  know  that  in  the  State  in  which 
your  Yearly  Meeting  is  held,  slavery  is  fully  legalized,  if 
the  slaves  are  the  property  of  persons  not  actually  citizens 
of  that  place;  —  the  most  odious  distinctions  of  color  also 
remain  on  the  statute  book,  including  one  (Section  10, 
No.  2,)  which  is  a  disgrace  to  any  civilized  community. 

I  may  add,  that  two  very  respectable  solicitors  in  Provi¬ 
dence  expressed  their  decided  opinion,  that  if  Friends 
heartily  promoted  the  repeal  of  these  obnoxious  laws, 
which  throw  all  the  moral  influence  of  the  State  on  4he 
11  * 


126 


DR.  CHANNING. 


side  of  slavery,  it  might  easily  be  accomplished.  I  cannot 
but  hope  the  subject  will  receive  your  prompt  attention. 

“  Truly  your  friend, 

“  Joseph  Sturge.” 

To  soften  the  impression  which  I  fear  the  preceding 
detail  will  give,  I  may  remark,  that  1  am  convinced,  from 
extensive  private  communication  with  Friends  in  New 
England,  that  there  is  yet  among  them  much  genuine 
anti-slavery  feeling,  especially  where  the  deadening  com¬ 
mercial  intercourse  with  the  South  does  not  operate ; 
and  though,  at  present,  with  some  bright  individual 
exceptions,  this  is  a  talent  for  the  most  part  hidden  or 
unemployed,  I  trust  that  many  faithful  laborers  in  this 
great  cause  will  yet  be  found  among  them. 

During  our  stay  in  Rhode  Island,  we  twice  visited  Dr. 
Cbanning,  at  his  summer  residence,  a  few  miles  from 
Newport.  The  delicacy  which  ought  ever  to  protect 
unreserved  social  intercourse,  forbids  me  to  enrich  my 
narrative  with  any  detail  of  his  enlightened  and  compre¬ 
hensive  sentiments ;  yet  1  cannot  but  add,  that,  widely 
differing  from  him  as  I  do,  on  many  important  points,  I 
was  both  deeply  interested  and  instructed  by  his  modest 
candor  and  sincerity,  and  by  the  spirit  of  charity  with 
which  he  appeared  habitually  to  regard  those  of  opposite 
opinions.  Our  conversation  embraced  various  topics.  I 
may  be  allowed  to  mention,  that  he  highly  approved  of 
Judge  Jay’s  suggestion  for  the  promotion  of  permanent 
international  peace.  He  also  made  a  practical  suggestion 
on  the  anti-slavery  movement,  which  I  trust  will  be  acted 
on  —  That  petitions  should  be  sent  to  Congress,  praying 
that  the  free  States  should  be  relieved  from  all  direct  or 


BOSTON. 


127 


indirect  support  of  slavery.  As  the  South  has  loudly 
complained  of  Northern  interference,  this  will  be  taking 
the  planters  on  their  own  ground. 

Sixth  Month,  (June)  19th.  —  We  went  on  to  New 
Bedford,  where,  the  next  day,  we  called  on  a  number  of 
persons  friendly  to  abolition,  and  met  a  large  party  of 
them  the  same  evening,  at  the  house  of  a  Friend.  A 
public  meeting  for  worship  was  appointed  during  our  stay, 
at  the  request  of  a  minister  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
from  Indiana,  which  we  attended.  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
witnessing  the  colored  part  of  the  audience,  placed  on  a 
level,  and  sitting  promiscuously  with  the  white,  the  only 
opportunity  I  had  of  making  such  an  observation  in  the 
United  States ;  as,  on  ordinary  occasions,  the  colored 
people  rarely  attend  Friends’  meetings.  One  of  the 
waiters  at  our  hotel  told  me  he  had  escaped  from  slavery 
some  years  before.  The  idea  of  running  away  had  been 
first  suggested  to  his  mind,  by  reflecting  on  his  hard  lot, 
being  over-worked,  and  kept  without  a  sufficiency  of  food, 
and  cruelly  beaten,  while  his  owner  was  living  in  luxury 
and  idleness,  on  the  fruits  of  his  labor.  He  had  been 
flogged  for  merely  speaking  to  one  of  his  master’s  visitors, 
in  reply  to  a  question,  because  it  was  suspected  he  had 
divulged  matter  that  his  master  did  not  wish  the  stranger 

o  o 

to  know. 

On  the  21st,  we  arrived  at  Boston,  and  stopped  at  the 
Marlborough  hotel.  One  of  the  first  things  noticed  by  a 
visitor  to  the  States  is  the  number  and  extent  of  the 
hotels,  almost  all  of  which  are  on  the  principle  of  the 
English  boarding  houses.  Besides  the  number  of  casual 
visitors  in  a  population  which  travels  from  place  to  place, 
perhaps  more  than  any  other  in  the  world,  the  hotels  are 


128 


MARLBOROUGH  HOTEL. 


the  permanent  homes  of  a  numerous  and  important  class 
of  unmarried  men,  engaged  in  business,  and  often  indeed 
of  young  married  persons,  who  choose  to  avoid  expense 
and  the  cares  of  housekeeping.  At  many,  if  not  most  of 
the  hotels,  cleanliness,  regularity,  and  order,  pervade  all 
the  arrangements,  and  as  much  comfort  is  to  be  found  as 
is  compatible  with  throng  and  publicity.  Still  the  domes¬ 
tic  charm  of  private  life  is  wanting,  and  its  absence  renders 
the  system  of  constant  residence  most  uncongenial  to 
English  habits  and  feelings.  An  unsocial  reserve  lies  on 
the  surface  of  English  character,  and  the  love  of  privacy, 
or  at  least  of  a  retirement  which  can  be  closed  and 
expanded  at  will,  is  an  extensive  and  deep-seated  feeling. 
Yet  the  Anglo-American,  even  of  the  purest  descent,  has 
early  lost  the  latter  characteristic,  while  he  often  retains 
the  first  unimpaired.  What  law  governs  the  hereditary 
transmission  of  such  traits?  Several  first  rate  hotels  in 
New  England  are  strictly  on  the  temperance  plan,  and 
among  them  is  the  Marlborough,  in  Boston,  the  second  in 
extent  of  business  in  this  important  city,  and  which  makes 
up  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  beds.  No  intoxi¬ 
cating  liquor  of  any  kind  can  be  had  in  the  house. 
Printed  notices  are  also  hung  up  in  the  bed  rooms,  that  it 
is  the  established  rule  to  take  in  no  fresh  company  and 
to  receive  no  accounts  on  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
and  the  cooking  and  other  preparations  are  as  much  as 
possible  performed  before  hand,  that  the  servants  may 
enjoy  the  day  of  rest,  and  partake  of  the  moral  and 
spiritual  benefit  of  a  weekly  pause  from  the  whirl  and 
turmoil  of  secular  engagements. 

I  had  scarcely  ventured  to  hope  that  I  should  ever 
witness  a  large  hotel  like  this,  conducted  on  such  princi- 


LYNN. 


129 


pies ;  but  having  now  seen  it,  it  adds  additional  strength: 
to  my  conviction,  that  in  proportion  as  Christianity  is 
carried  out  in  common  life,  in  the  same  proportion  is  the 
lost  happiness  of  man  recovered.  Too  many  in  the 
present  day,  who  are  not  behind-hand  in  profession,  keep 
their  principles  more  for  show  than  use.  They  acknowl¬ 
edge  the  purity  of  them,  and  have  some  faint  perception 
of  their  moral  beauty,  but  secretly  believe,  and  sometimes 
openly  avow  them  to  be  impracticable  in  the  present  state 
of  the  world.  They  who  exhibit  proof  of  the  contrary, 
are  benefactors  to  their  fellow  men ;  and  among  these, 
justly  deserves  to  be  classed  Nathaniel  Rogers,  the 
proprietor  of  the  Marlborough  Hotel,  in  Boston. 

We  called  upon  several  of  our  anti-slavery  friends  on 
the  day  of  our  arrival,  and  in  the  evening,  took  tea  with  a 
number  of  those  who  approve  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
London  Convention,  and  who  concur  in  the  principles  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Seciety.  The 
subjects  discussed  were  the  time  and  place  of  a  future 
convention  of  the  friends  of  the  slave  of  different  nations. 
London  was  unanimously  approved  as  the  place,  and  the 
preponderance  of  sentiment  was  in  favor  of  1842  as  the 
time. 

On  the  22d  we  went  on  to  Lynn.  Here  are  a  very 
considerable  number  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  are 
desirous  of  taking  part  in  active  anti-slavery  exertion, 
when  they  can  do  so  without  compromise  of  principle.  It 
is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  in  this  vicinity,  a  few 
individuals,  formerly  members  of  our  religious  society, 
have  embraced,  in  connection  with  their  abolition  views, 
the  doctrines  of  non-resistance,  or  non-government,  in 
church  and  state,  and  thus  greatly  added  to  the  difH- 


130  ENTERTAINMENT  AT  THE  MARLBORO*  HOTEL. 

culties  in  the  way  of  efficient  action  on  the  part  of 
consistent  members  ;  but  whatever  may  be  the  errors 
and  indiscretions  of  these  individuals,  they  furnish  no 
valid  excuse  for  the  apathy  and  inaction  on  the  part 
of  “  Friends,”  nor  lessen,  in  the  slightest  degree,  their 
responsibility  for  the  firm  and  faithful  maintenance  of 
our  Christian  testimony  against  oppression.  We  pro¬ 
ceeded,  the  same  evening,  to  Amesbury,  where  the 
family  of  my  friend  and  companion  John  G.  Whittier 
reside,  in  whose  hospitable  and  tranquil  retreat  we 
remained  till  the  25th.  Here  I  found  myself  in  a  manu¬ 
facturing  district,  and  paid  a  visit  to  a  large  woollen  mill, 
and  was  much  pleased  with  the  cleanliness  and  order 
displayed,  and  with  the  evident  comfort  and  prosperity  of 
the  working  people,  who  are  chiefly  young  women,  none 
of  whom  are  admitted  under  sixteen  years  of  age.  Any 
person  given  to  intoxication  would  be  instantly  discharged. 
All  the  manufactories  in  this  place  are  joint-stock  compa¬ 
nies,  and  the  mills  are  worked  by  water  power,  of  which 
there  is  an  abundant  supply. 

I  had  agreed,  on  my  return  to  Boston,  to  meet  my 
abolition  friends  at  a  tea  party,  and  found  an  entertainment 
provided  from  the  Marlborough  Hotel,  in  a  large  room 
adjoining  one  of  the  chapels,  on  a  scale  of  great  profusion, 
a  little  to  my  disappointment,  as  I  had  anticipated  one  of 
a  social  rather  than  of  a  public  character,  though  I  could 
not  but  feel  the  kindness  which  it  was  intended  to  mani¬ 
fest.  Charles  Stewart  Renshaw,  from  Jamaica,  was 
opportunely  present,  and  his  information  on  the  state  of 
that  Island  added  much  interest  to  the  evening,  the  pro¬ 
ceedings  of  which,  I  hope,  gave  pretty  general  satisfaction. 
In  condescension  to  my  wish,  my  valued  friend,  Nathaniel 


WORCESTER. 


131 


Colver,  suggested  to  the  company  to  dispense  with  the 
usual  form  of  public  prayer,  and  substitute  an  interval  of 
silence,  after  the  reading  of  a  portion  of  scripture,  which 
was  kindly  complied  with. 

Before  leaving  Boston,  I  had  a  long  interview  with 
William  Lloyd  Garrison.  His  view  of  “  women’s  rights” 
is  so  far  a  matter  of  conscience  with  him,  as  to  be  made 
an  indispensable  term  of  union ;  yet  though  widely  differ¬ 
ing  on  this,  and  other  important  points,  we  parted,  1  trust, 
as  we  met,  on  personally  friendly  terms ;  and  certainly  on 
my  part  with  a  desire  to  promote  a  spirit  of  forbearance,  and 
with  a  deeper  and  stronger  conviction  that  the  friends  of 
the  bleeding  and  oppressed  slave,  should  not  spend  their 
strength  in  unprofitable  contention  upon  points  in  regard 
to  which  both  parties  claim  to  act  conscientiously,  while 
the  common  cause  requires  their  undivided  energies. 

On  the  28th  I  left  Boston  for  the  beautiful  town  of 
Worcester,  about  forty  miles  distant,  on  the  principal  line 
of  railway  to  New  York,  where  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
visiting,  at  his  own  residence,  my  friend,  Cyrus  P. 
Grosvenor,  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  Anti-Slavery  Con¬ 
vention  last  year.  There  are  here  a  considerable  number 
of  sincere  abolitionists,  of  whom  we  met  a  small  company  in 
the  evening,  in  a  room  used  as  the  Friends’  meeting  house. 
I  gave  them  a  brief  account  of  the  state  of  the  anti¬ 
slavery  cause  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  In  company 
with  John  M.  Earle,  editor  of  one  of  the  Worcester 
papers,  with  whom  I  had  formed  a  previous  acquaintance 
at  the  Yearly  Meeting,  I  also  called  on  the  Governor  of 
the  State  of  Massachusetts,  who  resides  in  this  place.  We 
had  some  friendly  conversation,  but  he  seemed  cautious  on 
the  subject  of  abolition.  The  temperance  cause  in  Wor- 


132 


THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE. 


cester  has  made  so  much  progress  that  at  the  three  largest 
and  best  hotels,  which  make  up  nearly  one  hundred  beds 
each,  no  intoxicating  liquor  of  any  kind  is  sold.  A  people 
thus  willing  to  carry  out  their  convictions,  to  the  sacrifice 
of  prejudice,  appetite,  and  apparent  self-interest,  cannot 
long  remain  a  nation  of  slave-holders.  In  common  with 
the  rest  of  New  England,  this  town  is  remarkable  for  the 
number,  size,  and  beauty  of  its  places  of  worship.  I  cal¬ 
culated,  with  the  aid  of  a  well-informed  inhabitant,  that  if 
the  entire  population  were  to  go  to  a  place  of  worship,  at 
the  same  hour,  in  the  same  day,  there  would  be  ample  ac¬ 
commodation,  and  room  to  spare.  Yet  here  there  is  no 
compulsory  tax  to  build  churches,  and  maintain  ministers. 
By  the  efficacy  of  the  voluntary  principle  alone  is  this 
state  of  things  produced. 

My  dear  friend,  John  G.  Whittier  returned  home  from 
Worcester  on  account  of  increased  indisposition,  while  I 
proceeded  alone  to  New  York.  The  journey  from  Bos¬ 
ton  to  the  latter  city  is  a  remarkably  pleasant  one.  Leav¬ 
ing  Boston  at  four  in  the  afternoon,  we  proceed  on  one  of 
the  best  railways  in  the  States,  at  the  rate  of  upwards  of 
twenty  miles  an  hour,  through  a  very  beautiful  and  gen¬ 
erally  well  cultivated  country,  to  the  city  of  Norwich,  in 
the  State  of  Connecticut,  where  the  train  arrives  about 
eight  in  the  evening,  and  the  passengers  immediately 
embark  on  a  handsome  steamer,  for  New  York,  enjoying, 
as  long  as  daylight  lasts,  the  fine  scenery  on  the  banks  of 
the  Thames.  The  night  I  went  was  moonlight ;  and, 
after  long  enjoying  the  coolness  of  the  evening  on  deck, 
the  company  retired  to  their  berths,  and  arrived  at  New 
York  at  the  seasonable  hour  of  six  the  following  morning. 

I  remained  in  New  York  until  the  7th  of  the  Seventh 


THEODORE  D.  WELD. 


133 


Month  (July).  My  friends,  William  Shotwell  and  wife, 
had  left  the  city  during  the  hot  months,  but  very  kindly 
placed  their  town  house  at  my  service,  and  I  found  the 
retirement  thus  at  my  command  both  refreshing  and  very 
serviceable,  in  enabling  me  to  bring  up  arrears  of  writing. 
During  this  interval,  1  spent  one  very  pleasant  day  with 
Theodore  and  Angelina  Grimke  Weld,  and  their  sister, 
Sarah  Grimke,  who  reside  on  a  small  farm,  a  few  miles 
from  Newark.  To  the  great  majority  of  my  readers  these 
names  need  no  introduction  ;  yet,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
few,  I  will  briefly  allude  to  their  past  history.  When  the 
American  Anti-Slavery  Society  was  formed,  in  1833, 
Theodore  D.  W eld  was  at  the  Lane  Seminary,  near  Cin¬ 
cinnati,  Ohio.  He  was  unable  to  attend  on  that  occasion, 
but  wrote  a  letter,  declaring  his  entire  sympathy  with  its 
object.  Soon  after,  through  the  influence  and  exertions  of 
himself  and  Henry  B.  Stanton,  a  large  majority  of  the 
students  at  Lane  Seminary,  comprising  several  slave-hold¬ 
ers  and  sons  of  slave-holders,  became  members  of  an  Anti- 
Slavery  Society.  The  Faculty  opposed  the  formation  of 
this  society,  and  finally  expelled  its  members  from  the 
seminary.  For  two  or  three  years  after,  Theodore  Weld 
was  engaged  in  anti-slavery  effort,  principally  in  the  States 
of  Ohio  and  New  York.  His  voice  failed  at  last,  and  for 
several  years  he  was  unable  to  address  a  public  assembly. 
Angelina  Grimke  Weld,  and  her  sister,  Sarah  Grimke, 
were  natives  of  South  Carolina,  the  daughters  of  a  distin¬ 
guished  Judge  of  that  State  ;  for  several  years  they  resid¬ 
ed  in  Philadelphia.  Having  long  felt  a  deep  interest  in 
the  condition  of  the  slaves,  in  the  year  1837  they,  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  what  they  believed  to  be  a  sense  of  religious 
duty,  visited  New  York  and  New  England,  to  plead  the 
12 


134 


THEODORE  D.  WELD. 


cause  of  those,  with  whose  sorrows,  degradation,  and  cruel 
sufferings,  they  had  been  familiar  in  their  native  State. 
They  are  evidently  women  of  superior  endowments,  kind- 
hearted  and  energetic,  and  still  retain  something  of  the 
warmth  and  lervor  of  Character  peculiar  to  the  South. 

Few,  even  of  the  well  informed  abolitionists  of  Eng¬ 
land,  have  an  adequate  idea  of  the  extent,  variety,  and  ex¬ 
cellence  of  the  anti-slavery  literature  of  the  United  States, 
or  of  the  amount  of  intellectual  power  which  has  been  wil¬ 
lingly  consecrated  to  this  service.  Of  the  cause  itself, 
with  all  its  exigencies,  we  may  adopt,  in  a  yet  more  limited 
sense,  the  sentiment  of  the  Christian  poet,  on  the  transient 
nature  of  all  sublunary  things, 

“  These,  therefore,  are  occasional,  and  pass.” 

The  time  approaches  when  the  shackles  of  the  slave 
will  fall  off — when  his  suffering  and  despairing  cry  will 
be  no  more  heard.  Slavery  itself  is  a  temporary  exi¬ 
gency  ;  but  its  removal  has  called,  and  will  yet  call 
forth,  works  bearing  the  impress  of  intellectual  supremacy, 
which  will  be  embodied  in  the  permanent  literature  of  the 
age,  and  will  contribute  to  raise  the  character,  and  to  ex¬ 
tend  the  reputation,  of  that  literature.  The  names  of 
Channing,  Jay,  Child,  Green,  and  Pierpont,  are  already 
their  own  passport  to  fame.  Other  names  might  be  men¬ 
tioned  ;  but,  one  instance  excepted,  selection  might  be  in¬ 
vidious.  That  exception  is  Theodore  D.  Weld,  whose 
palm  of  superiority  few  would  be  disposed  to  contest.  His 
principal  works  are,  “  The  Bible  against  Slavery ;  ” 
(<  Power  of  Congress  over  Slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  “  Slavery  as  it  is.” 

All  his  writings  are  marked  by  varied  excellence ;  yet 


THEODORE  D.  WELD. 


135 


their  chief  characteristic  is  an  irresistible  and  overwhelm¬ 
ing  power  of  argument.  Although  brief  and  compressed 
in  style,  he  exhausts  his  subject ;  and  his  two  principal 
works,  though  on  warmly  controverted  topics,  have  never 
been  replied  to.  He  would  be  a  bold  antagonist  who 
should  enter  the  lists  against  him  :  he  would  be  a  yet 
bolder  ally  who  should  attempt  to  go  over  the  same 
ground,  or  to  do  better  what  has  been  done  so  well. 

One  of  the  most  voluminous  and  popular  writers  that 
ever  lived,  observed  to  a  friend,  “  that  he  was  more  proud 
of  his  compositions  for  manure,  than  of  any  other  compo¬ 
sitions  with  which  he  had  any  concern. ”  My  friend,  has 
the  same  love  of  rural  occupations,  and  has  found  severe 
manual  labor  essential  for  the  recovery  of  health,  broken 
by  labor  of  another  kind.  I  found  him  at  work  on  his 
farm,  driving  his  own  wagon  and  oxen,  with  a  load  of 
rails.  When  he  had  disposed  of  his  freight,  we  mounted 
the  wagon,  and  drove  to  his  home.  Two  or  three  of  his 
fellow-students  at  the  Lane  Seminary  arrived  about  the 
same  time,  and  we  spent  the  day  in  agreeable,  and,  I  trust, 
profitable  intercourse.  In  the  household  arrangements  of 
this  distinguished  family,  Dr.  Graham’s  dietetic  system  is 
rigidly  adopted,  which  excludes  meat,  butter,  coffee,  tea, 
and  all  intoxicating  beverages.  I  can  assure  all  who  may 
be  interested  to  know,  that  this  Roman  simplicity  of  living 
does  not  forbid  enjoyment,  when  the  guest  can  share  with 
it  the  affluence  of  such  minds  as  daily  meet  at  their  table. 
The  “  Graham  system,”  as  it  is  called,  numbers  many 
adherents  in  America,  who  are  decided  in  its  praise. 

My  friends,  Theodore  D.  and  Angelina  Weld,  and 
Sarah  Grimke,  sympathize,  to  a  considerable  extent,  with 
the  views  on  “  women’s  rights,”  held  by  one  section  of 


136 


SAMUEL  PARSONS. 


abolitionists  ;  yet  they  deeply  regret  that  this,  or  any  other 
extraneous  doctrine,  should  have  been  made  an  apple  of 
discord  ;  and,  since  the  rise  of  these  unhappy  divisions, 
they  have  held  aloof  from  both  the  anti-slavery  organiza¬ 
tions,  though,  as  among  the  most  able  and  successful 
laborers  in  the  field,  they  may  justly  be  accounted  allies 
by  each  party.  Difference  of  opinion  on  these  points  did 
not,  for  a  moment,  interrupt  the  pleasure  of  our  inter¬ 
course;  and  I  could  not  but  wish,  that  those,  of  whatever 
party,  who  are  accustomed  to  judge  harshly  of  all  who 
cannot  pronounce  their  “  shibboleth,”  might  be  instructed 
by  the  candid,  charitable,  and  peace-loving  deportment  of 
Theodore  D.  Weld. 

During  my  visit  to  New  York,  I  became  acquainted 
with  many  who  were  deeply  interested  in  the  abolition 
cause,  not  a  few  of  whom  were  members  of  my  own 
religious  society.  Among  these,  I  may  particularly 
mention  my  venerable  friends,  Richard  Mott  and  Samuel 
Parsons.  I  paid  a  second  visit  to  the  residence  of  the 
latter  at  Flushing,  but  regret  to  say,  I  found  him  too 
unwell  to  enjoy  company.*  His  sons  are  anxiously 


*  This  illness  terminated  fatally.  One  of  his  intimate  friends 
in  this  country,  has  favored  me  with  the  following  communication 
respecting  him.  “  Samuel  Parsons  had  been  from  early  life,  a 
warm  friend  to  the  African  race ;  his  love  of  peace  rendered  him  at 
the  first  accessible  to  prejudice  against  the  American  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  through  the  misrepresentations  respecting  its  violent  and 
rash  measures ;  which  misrepresentations  it  was  much  more  easy 
to  believe  than  to  investigate.  Yet  his  interest  for  the  negro  and 
colored  population  of  the  United  States  continued,  and  he  extended 
acts  of  protection  and  kindness  towards  them,  whenever  opportu¬ 
nity  for  it  was  afforded.  In  the  Eleventh  Month,  last  year,  I  find 
the  following  paragraph  in  one  of  his  letters  to  us,  viz.  ‘  Though 
sensible  that  I  am  drawing  towards  the  close  of  time,  I  cannot 


ANNIVERSARY  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE.  137 

desirous  of  furthering  the  abolition  cause  on  every  suitable 
occasion.  One  evening  I  spent  with  a  respectable 
minister,  who  is  a  man  of  color,  and  who  assured  me  that 
most  of  the  intelligent  persons  of  his  class  in  New  York 
approve  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  late  Convention  in 
London,  and  the  Committee  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Anti-Slavery  Society.  I  saw  at  his  house  a  man  who  had 
purchased  his  freedom  for  twelve  hundred  dollars,  intend¬ 
ing  to  remain  in  the  same  State,  but,  as  in  a  precisely 
similar  case  already  noticed,  he  afterwards  found  he  had 
no  alternative  but  to  emigrate,  leaving  his  still  enslaved 
family  behind  him,  or  to  be  again  sold  into  slavery 
himself,  under  the  laws  enacted  to  drive  out  free  people 
of  color.  He  was  trying  to  raise  the  large  sum  of  fourteen 
hundred  dollars,  to  purchase  his  wife  and  four  children. 

“  The  fourth  of  July,”  the  anniversary  of  the  independ¬ 
ence  of  the  United  States,  fell  this  year  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  and  was  therefore  celebrated  the  day  following. 
It  is  still  marked  by  extravagant  demonstrations  of  joy,  and 


avoid  taking  a  deep  interest  in  the  moral  reformation, ^relative  to 
slavery  and  intemperance,  which  is  progressing  in  the  earth;  my 
son  Robert  and  I  look  at  these  publications  as  they  appear,  with 
deep  solicitude.  The  proceedings  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Convention 
of  the  world,  and  its  movements,  are  of  great  moment  to  the  whole 
civilized  world.  The  anti-slavery  cause,  has  not,  I  fear,  advanced 
much  the  last  year;  the  separation  in  the  National  Society,  and  the 
truckling  to  the  South  of  the  politicians  of  both  sides,  during  the 
late  Presidential  election,  has  for  a  time  marred  the  work  ;  but  the 
anti-slavery  banner  of  a  third  party  is  still  displayed,  and  it  will 
probably  continue  to  nominate  till  it  seriously  influences  the  elec¬ 
tions.  In  the  mean  time,  the  individual  States,  one  after  another, 
are  freeing  the  colored  people  from  part  of  their  civil  disabilities. 
A  hard  battle  is  to  be  fought,  but  mighty  is  truth,  and  must  pre¬ 
vail.’  ” 


12* 


138 


SCHOOL  AT  NEWARK. 


often  disgraced  by  scenes  of  intemperance  and  demoral¬ 
ization.  The  better  part  of  the?  community  wisely 
counteract  the  evil,  to  a  great  extent,  by  holding,  on  the 
same  day,  temperance  meetings,  school  examinations, 
opening  their  places  of  worship,  et  cet.  I  accompanied 
my  friend  Lewis  Tappan  to  attend  an  anti-slavery  meet¬ 
ing  at  Newark,  in  which  Theodore  Weld  was  expected  to 
take  a  part  for  the  first  time  after  an  interval  of  five  years’ 
discontinuance  of  public  speaking.  Several  years  before, 
he  had  been  carried  away  by  the  stream  in  crossing  a 
river,  and  had  very  narrowly  escaped  drowning.  This 
accident  caused  an  affection  of  the  throat,  and  eventually 
disqualified  him  for  public  labor  except  with  the  pen,  to 
which,  though  deemed  a  great  loss  at  the  time  by  his 
fellow-laborers  in  the  anti-slavery  cause,  we  probably  owe 
the  invaluable  works  before  referred  to.  It  was  on  the 
same  anniversary,  five  years  ago,  that  he  had  spoken  last, 
a  circumstance  to  which  he  made  a  touching  allusion :  he 
spoke  very  impressively  for  more  than  half  an  hour  with¬ 
out  serious  inconvenience,  and  I  hope  it  may  please 
Providence  to  restore  his  ability  to  plead,  as  he  was  wont 
to  do  with  great  power,  for  the  cause  of  the  oppressed. 

In  the  afternoon  there  was  a  public  examination  of  the 
scholars  belonging  to  the  place  of  worship  in  which  the 
preceding  meeting  wras  held,  and  in  connection  with  this  a 
little  incident  occurred,  which  may  serve  to  illustrate  the 
state  of  public  feeling.  Newark,  from  its  extensive  trade 
with  the  south,  is  much  under  pro-slavery  influence.  But 
the  congregation  of  this  chapel  are  generally  anti-slavery, 
and  have  several  colored  children  in  their  school.  One  of 
these,  a  little  black  girl,  was  qualified  to  take  part  in  the 
public  examination ;  but  this,  in  the  estimation  of  some 


FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


139 


of  the  parents  of  white  scholars,  and  several  even  of  the 
trustees,  could  not  be  borne.  Others,  on  the  contrary, 
resolved  to  battle  with  the  prejudice  of  caste,  and  to  call 
for  her,  if  she  were  not  brought  forward  ;  and,  finally,  I 
suppose,  by  way  of  compromise,  she  was  brought  on  the 
platform  to  recite  alone,  after  the  little  scholars  who  could 
rejoice  in  the  aristocratic  complexion  had  performed  their 
parts,  without  suffering  the  indignity  of  a  public  associa¬ 
tion  with  a  colored  child.  Even  this  was,  however, 
considered  a  victory  by  the  anti-prejudice  party. 

I  left  on  the  seventh  for  Niagara,  being  desirous  to  see 
the  celebrated  Falls,  and  to  visit  some  friends  living  in  the 
western  part  of  this  State,  as  well  as  to  find  relief  from 
the  oppressive  and  tropical  heat.  I  hoped  also  to  fall  in 
with  my  friends  and  fellow  laborers,  J.  and  M.  Candler, 
who  had  gone  with  a  party  in  the  same  direction.  I  need 
not  describe  a  route  so  often  traversed  by  Europeans. 
One  of  its  agreeable  incidents  was  an  accidental  meeting 
with  John  Curtis,  of  Ohio,  on  his  way,  on  a  free  trade 
mission,  to  Great  Britain,  from  motives  which  I  believe  to 
be  disinterested  and  philanthropic.  His  labors,  which  are 
principally  intended  to  show  the  evils  of  our  taxes  upon 
food,  will  not  be  in  vain  ;  though  he  will  find  many  in 
England,  as  I  found  in  America,  who  have  no  ear  for 
truth  when  it  opposes  their  prejudices  or  imaginary  self- 
interest.  He  gave  me  a  most  cheering  account  of  the 
march  of  abolition  in  Ohio,  and  said  he  had  lately  attended 
a  meeting  held  at  the  invitation  of  the  abolitionists,  on 
the  5th  of  July,  at  which  there  were  three  thousand 
persons,  who  had  come  to  the  place  of  meeting  in  nine 
hundred  vehicles  of  different  kinds.  He  said  he  had 
never  witnessed  a  more  enthusiastic  meeting.  Another 


140 


FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


gentleman  and  his  wife  made  themselves  known  to  me,  in 
the  railway  carriage,  as  warm  abolitionists,  and  spoke 
favorably  of  the  prospects  of  the  cause  in  this  part  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  The  gentleman  said  he  had  lately 
had  a  discussion  with  a  deacon  of  a  church  he  attended, 
who  defended  the  admission  of  slave-holders  to  the  com¬ 
munion.  On  being  asked,  however,  whether  he  would 
admit  sheep-stealers,  he  acknowledged  this  was  not  so 
great  a  crime  as  man -stealing,  and  pleaded  no  further  in 
favor  of  church-fellowship  with  slave-holders. 

The  journey  from  New  York  to  the  Falls  of  Niagara, 
a  distance  of  480  miles,  is  performed  in  about  forty-eight 
hours,  and  when  the  railway  communication  is  further 
completed,  and  the  speed  raised  to  the  standard  of  the 
best  English  lines,  it  will  probably  be  accomplished  in  less 
than  thirty  hours.  The  railway  passed  for  many  miles 
through  the  original  forest,  in  which  I  observed  very  lofty 
trees,  but  none  of  an  extraordinary  girth.  In  many  places 
the  ground  was  crowded  with  fallen  trees,  in  every  stage 
of  decay.  I  found  my  friends  at  the  Eagle  Hotel,  at 
Niagara,  where  I  remained  till  the  twelfth,  enjoying  with 
them  the  views  and  scenery  of  “  the  Falls,”  a  spectacle 
of  nature  in  her  grandest  aspect,  which  mocks  the  limited 
capacity  of  man  to  conceive  or  to  describe. 

On  the  eleventh,  being  the  first  day  of  the  week,  we 
held  a  meeting  for  worship,  at  our  hotel,  and  were  joined 
by  an  Irish  lady  and  her  three  daughters,  who  had  been 
living  here  some  months.  This  lady  told  me  she  was 
present  when  M’Leod  was  arrested  in  this  hotel.  From 
all  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  there  are  a  number  of 
reckless  men  on  both  sides  the  border  line,  who  are 
anxious  to  foment  war  for  the  sake  of  plunder;  but  the 


AUBURN. 


141 


great  bulk  of  the  American  people,  I  am  persuaded,  are 
for  peace,  and  especially  for  peace  with  England,  a  feel¬ 
ing  which  time  is  strengthening. 

On  the  twelfth,  our  whole  party  left  for  Buffalo,  by 
railway,  getting  a  transient  view  of  Lake  Ontario  before 
entering  the  city.  Here  we  parted  company,  they  pro¬ 
ceeding  to  Toronto,  by  steam  packet,  and  I  to  Syracuse 
by  coach.  The  American  vehicle  of  this  name,  carries 
nine  inside  passengers  on  three  cross  seats.  It  is  hung  on 
leather  springs,  so  as  to  be  fitted  to  maintain  the  shocks  of 
a  corduroy  road.  Wishing  to  see  the  country,  I  mounted 
the  box,  by  the  side  of  the  coachman,  but  at  times  had 
some  difficulty  in  retaining  my  seat.  The  value  of  land 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  when  cleared  and  in  cultiva¬ 
tion,  I  understood  to  be  from  thirty  to  fifty  dollars  per 
acre.  A  large  breadth  of  wheat  is  grown,  of  which  the 
yield  is  generally  good ;  but  this  year  there  will  be,  in 
many  cases,  a  short  crop,  from  the  extreme  drought  in  the 
two  preceding  months.  I  went  forward  from  Syracuse  to 
Rochester  by  railway,  and  thence,  with  the  exception  of 
of  twelve  miles  by  coach,  by  the  same  conveyance  to 
Auburn,  where  we  arrived  at  two  o’clock  in  the  morning. 
One  of  my  fellow-passengers  had  been  a  soldier  in  the 
so-called  “  patriot  ”  army,  which  enlisted  against  Santa 
Anna,  in  the  revolt  of  Texas.  He  stated,  that  some 
planters  were  emigrating  from  Mississippi,  with  as  many 
as  two  hundred  “  hands,”  (slaves,)  and  plainly  said,  it  was 
intended  to  plant  the  Anglo-Saxon  flag  on  the  walls  of 
Mexico.  If  half  what  he  asserted  was  true,  the  worst 
apprehensions  of  the  abolitionists  are  too  likely  to  be 
realized  by  the  Texian  revolution,  and  the  establishment 
of  a  new  slave-holding  power  on  the  vast  territory 


142 


SKANEATELES. 


claimed  by  that  piratical  band  of  robbers,  and  forming  the 
South-western  frontier  of  the  United  States. 

At  Auburn  1  paid  a  visit  to  the  celebrated  State 
Prison,  and  though,  from  want  of  time  to  call  upon  a 
gentleman  in  the  city  for  whom  I  had  a  letter,  1  was 
unprovided  with  an  introduction,  I  was  politely  admitted 
by  the  superintendent,  who  refused  to  receive  the  fee 
customarily  paid  by  visitors,  when  he  found,  from  the 
entry  of  my  name  and  address,  I  was  an  Englishman.  I 
passed  through  the  different  workshops,  in  which  nearly 
all  handicraft  trades  are  carried  on,  and  very  superior  work 
is  frequently  executed  by  the  prisoners.  Besides  other 
less  complicated  machines,  one  complete  locomotive 
engine  has  been  constructed  within  these  walls.  As  the 
system  of  discipline  adopted  here  is  the  same  as  at  Sing 
Sing,  also  in  this  State,  I  defer  for  the  present,  any 
remarks  upon  its  character  and  success. 

I  left  Auburn,  in  a  hired  carriage,  for  Skaneateles,  to 
pay  a  visit  to  my  friend,  James  Cannings  Fuller.  He  has 
a  rich  farm  of  156  acres,  with  a  good  house  upon  it,  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  west  of  the  large  and  flourishing  village 
of  Skaneateles,  which  overlooks  a  beautiful  lake  of  the 
same  name,  sixteen  miles  in  length,  and  in  some  places 
two  miles  wide.  James  C.  Fuller  left  England  about 
seven  years  ago,  and  has  carried  his  abolition  principles 
with  him  to  his  adopted  country.  He  told  me  that  there 
had  been  a  great  change  for  the  better  in  the  public  mind 
since  his  residence  in  this  neighborhood.  Abolitionism 
was  once  so  unpopular,  that  he  has  been  mobbed  four 
times  in  his  own  otherwise  quiet  village.  On  one  occa¬ 
sion  he  was  engaged  in  a  public  discussion  on  slavery, 
and  a  mob  so  much  disturbed  the  meeting,  by  the  throwing 


JAMES  C.  FULLER. 


143 


of  shot,  and  yells  the  most  discordant  the  human  voice 
could  make,  that  his  opponent  moved  an  adjournment, 
and  afterwards  accompanied  him  on  his  way  to  his  own 
house,  with  many  other  persons,  as  a  body-guard.  They 
were  followed  by  a  large  number  of  other  persons,  who 
attempted  to  throw  him  down,  and  were  very  free  in  the 
use  of  missiles  and  mud ;  the  mob  were  so  vociferous, 
that  their  shoutings  were  heard  two  and  a  half  miles 
distant,  many  persons  leaving  their  houses  to  endeavor  to 
ascertain  the  cause  of  such  an  uproar.  On  James  C. 
Fuller’s  entering  his  house,  the  mob  surrounded  his  parlor 
windows,  and  these  would,  most  probably,  have  been 
smashed  in  pieces,  and  the  building  defaced,  had  not  one 
of  the  assailants  been  seized  with  a  fit,  and  in  that  state 
conveyed  into  James  C.  Fuller’s  parlor,  where  he  lay 
insensible  for  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  This  sudden 
seizure  diverted  the  attention  of  the  mob  from  my  friend 
and  his  property  to  their  own  companion. 

James  C.  Fuller  informed  me  that  mobs  in  America 
are  generally,  if  not  always,  instigated  by  “  persons  of 
property  and  standing and  the  most  blameable,  in  his 
case,  were  not  those  who  yelled,  et  cet.,  et  cet.,  but  others 
who  prompted  the  outrage.  Happily  this  state  of  things 
is  now  altered  :  as  much  order  and  decorum,  with  fixed 
attention,  is  now  witnessed  at  an  abolition  lecture  as  at 
any  other  lecture;  and  a  colored  man  can  now  collect  a 
larger  meeting  in  Skaneateles  than  a  white  man,  and  the 
behavior  of  the  audience  is  attentive,  kind,  and  respectful. 
My  friend,  John  Candler,  who  was  here  a  fortnight  before 
me,  collected  a  large  assembly  to  hear  his  account  of  the 
effects  of  emancipation  in  our  West  India  Islands,  and  many 
expressed  themselves  much  gratified  with  his  narrative. 


144 


PETERBORO’. 


Being  anxious  to  proceed  to  Peterboro’,  to  visit  Gerrit 
Smith,  I  accepted  James  C.  Fuller’s  kind  offer  to  take  me 
in  his  carriage.  The  distance  is  nearly  fifty  miles,  and  the 
roads  were,  in  some  parts,  very  rough  ;  but  they  intersect 
a  fine  country.  Much  wheat  is  grown  in  many  places, 
and  here  the  crop  appeared  generally  good. 

Having  started  rather  late  in  the  afternoon,  we  were 
benighted  before  we  reached  Manlius  Square,  where  we 
lodged.  Though  my  kind  friend  would  not  permit  me 
to  pay  my  share  of  the  bill,  yet,  to  gratify  my  curiosity, 
he  communicated  the  particulars  of  the  charge,  as  follows  : 
Half  a  bushel  of  oats  for  the  horses,  25  cents;  supper  for 
two  persons,  25  cents  ;  two  beds,  25  cents ;  hay  and 
stable-room  for  the  two  horses,  25  cents  ;  total,  one  dol¬ 
lar,  or  about  4s.  2d.  sterling. 

We  arrived  at  Peterboro’  early  the  following  morning, 
where  1  remained  till  the  sixteenth,  at  the  house  of  Gerrit 
Smith.  He  was  once  a  zealous  supporter  of  the  Colo¬ 
nization  Society,  but  when  convinced  of  the  evil  character 
and  tendency  of  that  scheme,  he  withdrew  from  it,  and  be¬ 
came  a  warm  and  able  advocate  of  the  immediate  abolition 
of  slavery.  He  is  one  of  the  few  Americans  who  have 
inherited  large  property  from  their  parents,  and  he  has  con¬ 
tributed  to  this  cause  with  princely  munificence.  Gerrit 
Smith  and  Arthur  Tappan  have  each  on  one  or  more  oc¬ 
casions  given  single  donations  of  ten  thousand  dollars  (up¬ 
wards  of  tw7o  thousand  pounds  sterling)  to  promote  anti¬ 
slavery  objects.  His  wife,  Ann  Carroll  Smith,  who  is  a 
native  of  Maryland,  and  his  daughter,  an  only  child,  share 
in  my  valued  friend’s  ardent  sympathy  for  the  sufferings  of 
the  slave.  During  my  stay,  he  received  a  letter  from 
Samuel  Worthington,  of  Mississippi,  who  held  in  slavery 


PETERBORO’. 


145 


Harriet  Russell.  Harriet  was  formerly  the  slave  of  Ann 
Carroll  Smith,  having  been  given  to  her  when  they  were 
both  children.  Ann  C.  Smith  was  but  twelve  years  old 
when,  with  her  father’s  family,  she  removed  from  Mary¬ 
land  to  New  York.  Harriet  was  left  in  Maryland. 
Shortly  after  Ann  C.  Smith’s  marriage,  and  when  she  was 
about  eighteen  years  of  age,  her  brother,  James  Fitzhugh, 
of  Maryland,  wrote  to  ask  her  to  give  Harriet  to  him, 
stating  that  she  was,  or  was  about  to  be,  married  to  his 
slave,  Samuel  Russell.  She  consented  :  and  her  brother 
soon  after  emigrated  to  Kentucky,  taking  Samuel  and 
Harriet  with  him  After  this  Samuel  and  Harriet  were 
repeatedly  sold. 

Some  years  ago,  Gerrit  and  Ann  C.  Smith  having  be¬ 
come  deeply  impressed  with  the  great  sin  of  slavery,  were 
anxious  to  learn  what  had  become  of  Harriet.  But  they 
did  not  succeed  in  ascertaining  her  residence,  until  the 
letter  received  during  my  visit  informed  them  of  it,  and 
which  also  stated  that  Harriet  and  her  husband  were 
living,  and  that  they  had  several  children.  The  price  put 
upon  the  family  was  four  thousand  dollars. 

James  C.  Fuller  having  kindly  offered  to  go  into  Ken¬ 
tucky,  where  Samuel  Worthington  then  resided,  to  nego¬ 
tiate  with  him  for  the  purchase  of  the  family,  G.  Smith 
gladly  accepted  the  offer  of  one  so  well  qualified  for  this 
undertaking.  James  C.  Fuller  succeeded  in  purchasing 
the  family  for  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars, 
exclusive  of  his  travelling  expenses,  and  those  of  the 
slave  family,  which  amounted  to  about  two  hundred 
and  eighty  dollars.  He  has  published  a  very  interesting 
account  of  his  journey,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  myself, 
from  which  some  extracts  are  given  in  the  Appen- 
13 


146 


PETERBORO’. 


% 

dix.#  Eighteen  months  ago,  G.  and  A.  C.  Smith  united 
with  other  children  of  her  father,  the  late  Col.  Fitzhugh,  in 
purchasing,  at  the  cost  of  four  thousand  dollars,  the  liberty 
of  ten  slaves,  who,  or  their  parents,  were  among  the  slaves 
of  Colonel  Fitzhugh  when  he  left  Maryland.  I  have 
recently  learned  that  they  are  negotiating  the  purchase  of 
the  liberty  of  other  slaves,  who  formerly  belonged  to 
Colonel  Fitzhugh.  It  is  nearly  seven  years  since  Gerrit 
Smith  and  his  family  adopted  the  practice  of  total  absti¬ 
nence  from  all  slave  produce,  thus  additionally  manifesting 
the  sincerity  of  those  convictions  which  have  induced  him 
to  contribute  so  largely  of  his  wealth  both  to  the  anti¬ 
slavery  funds,  and  for  the  liberation  of  all  slaves  with 
which  his  family  property  had  the  most  remote  connection. 

Here,  I  had  some  expectation  of  again  meeting  my 
friend,  James  G.  Birney,  who  was  gone  on  a  journey  to 
Ohio,  and  is  well  known  to  English  abolitionists,  by  his 
able  assistance  at  the  great  Anti-Slavery  Convention,  as 
one  of  its  vice-presidents,  and  by  his  subsequent  labors, 
which  are  thus  acknowledged,  on  his  return  to  America, 
by  the  Committee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti- 
Slavery  Society  :  — 

“  That  this  committee  are  deeply  sensible  of  the  ser¬ 
vices  rendered  to  the  anti-slavery  cause  by  their  esteemed 
friend  and  coadjutor,  James  Gillespie  Birney,  Esq.,  whilst 
in  this  country,  in  a  course  of  laborious  efforts,  in  which 
his  accurate  and  extensive  information,  his  wise  and  ju¬ 
dicious  counsels,  and  his  power  of  calm  and  convincing 
statement,  have  become  eminently  conspicuous. 

“  The  committee  also  take  the  present  occasion  to 


*  See  Appendix  I. 


UTICA. 


147 


record  their  sense  of  his  zealous  and  disinterested  labors  in 
defence  of  the  rights  of  outraged  humanity  in  his  own 
country,  during  a  period  of  great  excitement  and  opposi¬ 
tion :  and  of  the  proof  he  has  given  of  his  sincerity,  in 
having  twice  manumitted  the  slaves  that  had  come  into  his 
possession  ;  a  noble  example,  which  they  trust  others  will 
not  be  slow  to  follow.” 

Whilst  J.  G.  Birney  was  in  this  country,  in  addition  to 
his  arduous  labors,  in  addressing  large  assemblies  in  many 
of  the  cities  of  the  United  Kingdom,  he  prepared  and 
published  his  excellent  work,  “The  American  Churches 
the  Bulwark  of  American  Slavery,”  which  is  eminently 
deserving  of  the  attentive  perusal  of  all  Christian  readers. 
The  estimation  in  which  James  G.  Birney  is  held  by 
American  abolitionists,  is  marked  by  his  having  been  twice 
unanimously  selected  by  the  “  Liberty  Party,”  as  a  candi¬ 
date  for  the  Presidential  chair. 

1  found  G.  Smith  as  much  interested  in  the  subject  of 
temperance,  as  in  that  of  slavery.  No  person  in  the 
whole  of  the  township  in  which  he  lives  is  licensed  to  sell 
drams.  For  an  innkeeper  to  sell  a  glass  of  spirits,  or 
even  of  strong  beer,  is  illegal,  and  exposes  him  to  a  heavy 
fine. 

The  next  morning  I  left  early  for  Utica,  where  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  again  meeting  the  friends  I  had  parted 
from  at  Buffalo,  with  whom  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  Oneida 
Institute,  about  two  miles  from  Utica.  This  college  was 
the  first  in  the  United  States  to  throw  open  its  doors  to 
students,  irrespective  of  color.  It  was  also  one  of  the  ear¬ 
liest  institutions  to  combine  manual  labor  with  instruction. 
The  principle  is  adopted  partly  from  a  motive  of  economy, 
but  principally  because  intellectual  vigor  is  believed  to  de- 


148 


ONEIDA  AND  OBERLIN. 


pend  on  bodily  health,  and  that  these  can  be  best  secured 
and  preserved  by  exercise  and  labor,  especially  out  of  door 
and  agricultural  employments.  The  labor  of  the  students 
defrays  a  considerable  part  of  the  expense  of  their  sup¬ 
port,  but  as  the  severe  pressure  of  the  times  has  limited 
the  means  of  many  liberal  benefactors  of  Oneida,  the  es¬ 
tablishment,  which  usually  comprises  one  hundred  young 
men,  is  now  limited  to  about  one-third  of  the  number. 
Several  of  these  are  colored.  The  Oberlin  Institute  in 
Ohio  is  on  a  much  larger  scale  than  this,  and  is  on  an 
equally  liberal  footing  with  regard  to  color.  I  much  re¬ 
gretted  being  unable,  from  want  of  time,  to  comply  with 
the  urgent  request  of  my  friend,  Wm.  Dawes  and  others, 
to  visit  this  important  and  interesting  establishment.  The 
number  of  students  at  Oberlin  last  year  was  five  hundred 
and  sixty,  including  those  in  the  department  for  females. 

I  was  much  pleased  to  have  the  opportunity  of  be¬ 
coming  further  acquainted  with  the  President  of  Oneida, 
Beriah  Green,  and  with  his  friend,  Wm.  Goodell,  who  re¬ 
sides  in  the  neighborhood.  Their  names  will  be  rever¬ 
enced  by  the  abolitionists  of  America  as  long  as  the  mem¬ 
ory  of  anti-slavery  efforts  shall  survive.  Before  we  left, 
we  had  an  opportunity  of  meeting  the  students  together, 
who  appeared  much  interested  with  my  friend  John 
Candler’s  details  of  the  results  of  emancipation  in  Jamaica. 
I  was  disappointed  in  not  finding  at  home  Alvan  Stewart, 
one  of  the  ablest  and  most  zealous  friends  of  the  Anti- 
Slavery  cause;  but  Beriah  Green  kindly  accompanied  me 
to  call  upon  several  of  their  abolition  friends  in  the  city. 

My  limited  time  prevented  my  paying  a  visit  to  Henry 
B.  Stanton,  who  was  residing  not  far  from  Utica,  and 
whose  acquaintance  I  had  the  pleasure  of  making  in  Eng- 


ADDRESS  TO  “  FRIENDS.”  149 

land.  He  also  will  be  remembered  for  his  able  assistance 
at  the  Convention,  and  by  his  eloquent  addresses  at  public 
meetings  in  this  country.  The  following  record  of  his  ser¬ 
vices  is  made  by  the  Committee  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society  : — 

“  That  this  Committee,  in  taking  leave  of  their  friend 
and  fellow-laborer  in  the  cause  of  universal  emancipation, 
Henry  Brewster  Stanton,  Esq.,  record  their  high  estimate 
of  the  valuable  services  rendered  by  him  to  that  cause, 
whilst  in  Great  Britain,  by  his  eloquent  and  powerful  ad¬ 
vocacy  ;  and,  in  tendering  him  their  thanks,  they  express 
their  sincere  desire  for  his  success  in  the  great  work  to 
which  he  has  devoted  himself.” 

The  name  of  Henry  B.  Stanton  previously  occurs  in 
conjunction  with  that  of  Theodore  D.  Weld,  as  having  left 
Lane  Seminary  with  many  other  students,  rather  than  be 
silent  on  the  abolition  question  :  becoming  from  that  time 
a  strenuous  and  powerful  anti-slavery  advocate. 

I  proceeded  in  the  evening  to  Albany,  and  thence  to 
New  York  the  next  morning ;  where  I  remained  from  the 
17th  to  the  26th  instant,  and,  during  this  time,  I  put  in 
circulation  the  following  address  : — 

“  To  the  Members  of  the  Religions  Society  of  Friends 
in  the  United  States  of  America. 

“  Dear  Friends, — Having  for  many  years  believed 
it  my  duty  to  devote  a  considerable  portion  of  my  time 
and  attention  to  the  promotion  of  the  abolition  of  slavery 
and  the  slave-trade,  I  have  acted  in  cordial  co-operation 
with  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society  since 
its  formation.  The  principles  of  that  Society  may  be 
briefly  explained  by  the  following  extract  from  its  consti- 

13* 


150  ADDRESS  TO  “FRIENDS” 

tution  :  ‘  That  so  long  as  slavery  exists,  there  is  no  rea¬ 
sonable  prospect  of  the  annihilation  of  the  slave-trade,  and 
of  extinguishing  the  sale  and  barter  of  human  beings  : 
that  the  extinction  of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade  will  be 
attained  most  effectually  by  the  employment  of  those 
means  which  are  of  a  moral,  religious,  and  pacific  char¬ 
acter  :  and  that  no  measures  be  resorted  to  by  this  society 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  objects,  but  such  as  are  in  entire 
accordance  with  these  principles.’ 

“  My  visit  to  this  country  had  reference,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  the  objects  for  which  this  society  was  estab¬ 
lished  ;  but,  although  I  left  my  native  land  with  the 
general  approbation  and  full  unity  of  my  friends,  they 
concurred  with  me  in  opinion,  that  any  official  document, 
beyond  a  certificate  from  c  my  monthly  meeting,’ 
expressive  of  sympathy  with  my  engagement,  might 
rather  obstruct  than  promote  the  end  1  had  in  view.  1 
was  desirous  of  a  personal  interchange  of  sentiment  with 
many  of  the  abolitionists  in  this  land,  upon  matters  having 
an  important  bearing  upon  our  future  exertions.  The 
warm  attachment  which  I  have  ever  felt  to  the  relicfious 

O 

society  with  which  I  am  connected,  and  the  ready  co-ope¬ 
ration  of  its  members  with  their  Christian  neighbors  in 
promoting  this  cause  in  Great  Britain,  inclined  me  to 
embrace  every  suitable  opportunity  to  communicate  with 
Friends  in  this  country.  And  I  have  been  encouraged, 
not  only  by  the  great  personal  kindness  I  have  received 
from  them  generally,  but  also  by  the  lively  interest 
expressed  by  most,  on  the  subject  of  emancipation, 
wherever  I  have  introduced  it. 

“  A  further  acquaintance  with  Friends  in  the  compass 
of  the  three  or  four  4  Yearly  Meetings,’  in  which  my  lot 


IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


151 


has  been  cast,  and  my  inquiries  respecting  the  state  of  the 
other  Yearly  Meetings,  has  convinced  me  that  a  large 
number  of  their  most  consistent  members,  including  many 
aged  and  universally  respected  Friends,  are  desirous  of 
embracing  every  right  opening,  both  individually  and 
collectively,  for  the  promotion  of  the  abolition  cause. 
And  while  they  are  fully  aware  that  there  are  reasons 
growing  out  of  the  existing  state  of  things,  which  render 
great  circumspection  necessary,  they  can  see  no  good 
ground  for  believing  that  the  manner  in  which  Friends  of 
this  country,  of  a  former  generation,  labored  for  the 
liberation  of  the  slave,  was  not  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Spirit  of  truth. 

“This  is  now  the  course  pursued  by  Friends  generally 
in  England.  That  there  may  be  no  misapprehension  as 
to  the  conduct  of  Friends,  with  regard  to  this  subject,  in 
Great  Britain,  I  may  mention,  that  I  am  the  bearer  of  a 
document  expressive  of  unity  with  my  visit,  signed  by 
William  Allen,  Josiah  Forster,  William  Forster,  George 
Stacey,  Samuel  Fox,  George  W.  Alexander,  and  Robert 
Forster,  who  declare  themselves  fellow  members  with 
myself  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Com¬ 
mittee.  This  committee  is  composed  of  persons  of  various 
religious  denominations,  amongst  whom  it  will  be  seen  are 
many  of  the  prominent  members  of  our  meeting  for  suffer¬ 
ings.  Upon  the  list  of  delegates  to  the  late  Anti-Slavery 
Convention,  in  London,  are  the  names  of  nearly  one  hun¬ 
dred  well  known  Friends,  including  those  of  four  who  are, 
or  have  been  clerks  of  the  yearly  meeting ;  and  the  present 
clerk  of  that  meeting,  my  esteemed  friend,  George  Stacey, 
took  an  active  part,  and  rendered  essential  service  in  the 
Convention.  The  meeting  house  in  Gracechurch  Street 


152  ADDRESS  TO  i(  FRIENDS  ” 

was  freely  granted  by  Friends  in  London,  who  have 
charge  of  it,  for  the  use  of  the  Convention,  and  the 
concluding  sittings  of  that  body  were  held  in  it. 

“  In  fact,  Friends  generally  in  England  think  it  their 
duty  to  render  every  aid  in  their  power  to  the  anti-slavery 
cause,  whether  in  their  collective  capacity,  or  individually 
uniting  with  their  fellow-citizens,  when  they  can  do  so 
without  any  compromise  of  our  religious  principles  and 
testimonies.  I  speak  more  explicitly  on  this  point,  because 
I  have  ascertained  with  much  concern,  that  there  is  an 
influential  portion  of  the  Society,  including,  1  have  no 
doubt,  some  sincere  abolitionists,  who  have  been  so  fearful 
that  the  testimonies  of  the  Society  might  suffer  by  any 
union  with  others,  that  they  have  not  only  avoided  such 
a  co-operation  themselves,  but  have  dissuaded  those  of 
their  brethren,  who  have  believed  it  incumbent  upon  them 
to  act  otherwise  ;  and  in  one  ‘  Yearly  Meeting,’  at  least, 
I  have  too  much  reason  to  fear  they  have  tacitly,  if  not 
actively  sanctioned  the  omission  of  the  names  of  Friends 
on  meeting  appointments,  —  however  consistent  in  their 
conduct,  and  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  the  society  — 
simply  because  they  have  felt  it  their  duty  to  act  with 
persons  of  other  denominations  in  promoting  the  abolition 
of  slavery  ;  thus,  in  appearance  at  least,  throwing  the 
whole  weight  and  influence  of  the  society,  in  its  collective 
capacity,  against  a  movement,  which,  although  doubtless 
partaking  of  the  imperfections  attendant  upon  all  human 
instrumentality,  has  already  aroused  the  whole  country  to 
a  sense  of  the  wrongs  of  the  slave,  and  secured  to  the 
nominally  free  colored  citizens,  in  many  of  the  States, 
rights  of  which  they  have  been  so  long  and  so  unjustly 
deprived. 


IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


153 


“  Though  I  can  hardly  expect  that  any  thing  from 
one  entertaining  my  view  of  the  subject,  can  have  much 
weight  with  those  Friends,  who,  with  a  full  understanding 
of  the  heavy  responsibility  they  were  assuming,  have 
discountenanced  anti-slavery  exertions,  and  the  use  of  our 
meeting  houses,  even  by  consistent  members,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  information  on  the  subject  yet,  as  it 
has  occasioned  me  no  small  degree  of  anxiety,  both  in 
reference  to  the  anti-slavery  cause,  and  the  Society  of 
Friends  itself,  I  believe  I  cannot  return  to  my  native 
land  with  peace  of  mind,  without  earnestly  and  affection¬ 
ately  pressing  upon  such  Friends,  the  great  importance 
of  a  careful  examination  of  the  ground  which  they  have 
taken.  Our  unwearied  adversary  is  sometimes  permitted 
to  lead  us  into  the  most  fearful  errors,  when  he  assumes 
the  appearance  of  an  angel  of  light.  And  is  thei*e  not 
great  danger,  in  encouraging  the  young  and  inexperienced 
to  suppose  that  the  maintenance  of  any  of  our  testimonies 
may  be  neglected,  except  when  we  feel  a  Divine  intima¬ 
tion  to  uphold  them,  and  may  it  not  open  the  door  to 
great  laxity  in  our  practice  ?  While  1  fully  believe  that 
the  true  disciple  of  Christ  will  be  favored  with  the  imme¬ 
diate  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  whenever  it  is  needful 
to  direct  his  steps ;  it  appears  to  me  especially  important, 
that,  in  matters  of  self-sacrifice  and  conflicting  with  our 

*  “  It  is  right  to  state,  that  I  was  much  encouraged  by  the 
lively  expression  of  sympathy  in  the  anti-slavery  cause  in  the 
Yearly  Meetings  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York  :  that  at  the  former 
place  Friends  opened  a  room  at  the  meeting  house  for  my  friend 
John  Candler  to  give  some  information  on  the  subject,  and  at  New 
York  the  large  meeting  house  was  not  only  readily  granted  to  him 
and  me  for  the  same  purpose,  but  the  clerks  of  the  Yearly  Meeting 
kindly  gave  notice  and  invited  Friends  to  attend.” 


154 


ADDRESS  TO  “  FRIENDS 

worldly  interest  or  reputation,  we  should  guard  against 
being  deluded  into  a  neglect  of  duty,  by  waiting  for  this 
direct  Divine  intimation,  where  the  path  of  duty  is  obvious 
and  clearly  understood,  and  when  testimonies  are  con¬ 
cerned,  which  we  have  long  considered  it  our  duty,  on  all 
occasions,  to  support.  If,  under  such  a  view  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  we  do  believe  it  our  duty  to  cease  to  act  ourselves, 
and  discourage  our  brethren  from  laboring  in  the  cause  of 
the  slave;  a  close  self-examination  surely  is  needful,  in 
order  to  ascertain  if  we  are  consistently  carrying  out  the 
same  principle  in  our  daily  walk  in  life  —  in  our  mercantile 
transactions  —  our  investments  of  property  —  in  our  con¬ 
nection  with  public  institutions,  —  and  with  political 
parties. 

“  It  should  be  borne  in  perpetual  recollection,  that 
we  are  in  no  small  danger  of  shrinking  from  a  faithful 
maintenance  of  those  testimonies  which  are  unpopular 
with  the  world,  as  well  as  of  not  seeing  our  own  neglect 
of  duty,  while  censuring  the  zeal  or  supposed  indiscretion 
of  others.  Besides,  if  this  good  cause  be  really  endan¬ 
gered  by  popular  excitement,  and  the  indiscretion  of  its 
imprudent  advocates,  the  obligation  of  consistent  Friends 
to  be  found  at  their  posts,  faithfully  maintaining  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  truth  on  its  behalf,  is  greatly  increased  ;  and  it 
is  under  such  circumstances  that  I  think  I  have  seen  the 
peculiar  advantage  and  protection  to  our  young  friends  in 
England,  of  having  their  elder  brethren  with  them,  aiding 
them  by  their  sympathy,  as  well  as  by  their  advice  and 
counsel.  I  am  persuaded  that  those  who  are  called  to 
occupy  the  foremost  ranks  in  society  cannot  be  too  careful 
not  to  impose  a  burden  upon  tender  consciences,  by  dis¬ 
couraging,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  a  course  of  conduct 


IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


155 


which  is  sanctioned  by  the  precepts  and  examples  of  our 
Divine  Master,  lest  they  alienate  from  us  some  of  His 
disciples,  and  thereby  greatly  injure  the  society  they  are 
so  laudably  anxious  to  {  keep  unspotted  from  the  world.’ 

u  We  are  told,  on  the  highest  authority,  that  ‘  by  their 
fruits  ’  we  are  to  judge  of  the  laborers  in  the  Christian 
vineyard;  and,  while  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  greater 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  emancipation  here ,  as  compared 
with  Great  Britian,  1  have  been  almost  irresistibly  led  to 
contrast  the  difference  in  the  results  of  the  course  pursued 
by  Friends  in  the  two  countries.  In  America,  during  the 
last  twenty-five  years,  it  is  evident  that  slavery  and  the 
slave-trade  have  greatly  increased  ;  and  even  where  the 
members  of  our  society  are  the  most  numerous  and  influ¬ 
ential,  the  prejudice  against  color  is  as  strong  as  in  any 
part  of  the  world,*  and  Friends  themselves,  in  many 
places,  are  by  no  means  free  from  this  prejudice.  In 
Great  Britain,  Friends,  by  society  action,  and  by  uniting 
with  their  fellow-countrymen,  not  only  contributed,  under 
Providence,  in  no  small  degree,  to  the  passage  of  the  act 
of  1834,  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  British  West 
Ind  ies ;  but,  when  it  was  found  that  the  system  of 
apprenticeship  which  this  act  introduced,  was  made  an 
instrument  of  cruel  oppression  to  the  slaves,  a  renewal  of 
similar  labors  for  about  twelve  months,  resulted  in  the 
complete  emancipation  of  our  colored  brethren  in  those 
colonies. 

*  “  I  should,  I  believe,  do  wrong  to  conceal  the  sorrow  which  I 
have  felt  that  the  scheme  of  African  colonization,  the  great  support 
of  which,  at  the  present  time,  appears  to  be  hostility  to  anti-slavery 
efforts  and  an  unchristian  prejudice  against  color,  still  has  the  sym¬ 
pathy  and  the  active  aid  of  some  members  of  our  society.” 


156 


ADDRESS  TO  “  FRIENDS  ” 


f<  In  closing  this  letter,  I  wish  to  address  a  few  words  to 
that  numerous  and  valuable  class  of  Friends,  previously 
alluded  to,  with  whom  I  deeply  sympathize,  who  are  only 
deterred  from  more  active  exertion  by  their  reluctance  to 
give  dissatisfaction  to  those  whom  they  respect.  The 
sorrow  which  1  feel,  under  the  consideration  that,  in  part¬ 
ing  with  many  of  you,  we  never  probably  shall  meet  again 
in  mutability,  is  softened  by  the  persuasion,  that  the 
difficulties  by  which  you  are  surrounded  are  lessening,  and 
that  some  who  are  now  opposing  you,  will,  ere  long,  join 
you  in  efforts,  which  shall  remove  from  the  minds,  both  of 
abolitionists  and  slave-holders,  the  belief  so  generally  enter¬ 
tained,  that  the  Society  of  Friends  in  this  country  are  not 
earnestly  engaged  for  the  total  and  immediate  abolition  of 
slavery.  No  one  regrets  more  than  myself  that  any  friends 
to  the  cause  of  abolition  should  connect  other  topics  with 
it,  which,  however  suitable  to  be  discussed  on  their  own 
merits,  must  necessarily  interfere  with  this  simple  and  mo¬ 
mentous  object.  You  are  aware  of  some  of  the  circum¬ 
stances  which  may  have  led  to  the  state  of  feeling,  with 
many  in  our  society,  which  we  so  much  deplore.  And  it 
is  my  fervent  desire  that  none  of  you,  in  any  steps  you 
may  consider  it  your  duty  to  take,  may  afford  just  cause 
of  uneasiness,  by  any  compromise  of  Christian  principle, 
any  improper  harshness  of  language,  or  by  the  introduction 
of  any  subject  not  strictly  belonging  to  the  anti-slavery 
cause.  Your  situation  is  one  of  peculiar  difficulty  and 
delicacy.  Both  from  a  regard  to  your  own  religious 
society  and  the  suffering  slave,  you  have  need  to  exercise 
great  watchfulness,  and  to  cultivate  feelings  of  brotherly 
love  and  that  c  charity  which  suffereth  long,  and  is  kind.’ 
The  beautiful  example  of  John  Woolman,  in  this  respect, 


IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


157 


is  worthy  of  your  imitation.  His  labors  were,  for  years, 
far  less  encouraged  by  the  leading  influences  of  society 
than  your  own  at  the  present  time  ;  yet  we  find,  in  read¬ 
ing  his  invaluable  journal,  no  traces  of  bitterness  or 
uncharitable  feeling. 

Finally,  dear  friends  of  all  classes, — In  thus  freely 
addressing  you,  I  have  written,  not  only  with  a  strong 
attachment  to  our  religious  society,  but,  1  trust,  under  a 
feeling  of  a  degree  of  that  love,  which  is  not  confined  to 
geographical  boundaries,  or  affected  by  color  or  by  clime. 
The  prayer  of  my  heart  is,  that  each  of  you  may  be  wil¬ 
ling  to  be  made  instrumental,  in  the  Divine  Hand,  in  faith¬ 
fully  maintaining  our  Christian  testimony  against  slavery  ; 
bearing  in  mind,  that  the  labors  of  your  ancestors  have 
greatly  increased  your  responsibility,  by  separating  you 
from  those  influences  which  so  deaden  the  feelings  and 
harden  the  heart  against  the  claims  of  our  brethren  in 
bonds.  May  these  considerations,  viewed  in  connection 
with  the  difficulties  which  obstruct  the  progress  of  eman¬ 
cipation  in  this  land,  stimulate  you  to  increased  exertion  ; 
and  when  you  are  summoned  to  the  bar  of  that  final  tribu¬ 
nal,  towards  which  we  are  all  hastening,  may  you  have 
the  inexpressible  consolation  of  reflecting,  that  you  have 
performed  all  you  could  towards  c  undoing  the  heavy 
burden  and  letting  the  oppressed  go  free.’ 

“I  am,  very  sincerely, 

“  Your  friend, 

“  Joseph  Sturge.” 

“  New  York,  Seventh  Month  17th,  1841.” 

The  above  letter  so  fully  embodies  my  view  of  the 
state  of  the  Society  in  reference  to  the  anti-slavery  cause, 
14 


158 


THE  SOCIETY  OE  FRIENDS 


(C 


)) 


that  I  shall  think  it  needless,  after  a  few  general  observa¬ 
tions,  again  recur  to  this  subject.  I  feel  bound  to  acknowl¬ 
edge  that  this  public  mode  of  making  my  sentiments 
known  was  disapproved  by  some  Friends  ;  yet  of  all  the 
objections  that  were  made  to  the  proceeding,  none  tended 
to  impugn  the  accuracy  of  my  representation  of  the  exist¬ 
ing  state  of  things.  This  is  approved  by  some,  and 
deplored  by  others,  but  my  statement  has  not  been  denied 
by  any.  In  consequence  of  a  remonstrance  made  to  me 
on  special  grounds  in  the  kindest  and  most  Christian  man¬ 
ner  by  two  beloved  friends,  I  felt  called  upon  to  subject 
my  motives  and  conduct,  in  issuing  such  an  address,  to 
deliberate  reconsideration  ;  and  the  result  was,  that  I  not 
only  felt  myself  clear  of  just  censure,  but  that  in  no  other 
way  could  I  have  discharged  my  duty  according  to  my 
own  interpretation  of  its  dictates.  Of  other  objectors,  I 
may  add,  that  simply  to  enumerate  their  reasons,  stated  to 
me  in  private  conference,  would  be  the  severest  public 
animadversion  that  could  be  made,  either  on  the  individuals 
themselves,  or  on  the  Society  whose  views  they  professed 
to  represent. 

In  the  present  state  of  this  great  controversy,  the  abo¬ 
litionists  may  justly  say,  “  he  that  is  not  with  us,  is 
against  us,”  while  the  pro-slavery  party  can  witness,  “  he 
that  is  not  against  us,  is  on  our  side.”  Hence  the  praise 
bestowed  on  the  neutrality  of  the  Society  of  Friends  by 
the  great  slave-holding  senator,  Henry  Clay.  Hence  also 
the  suspicious  compliments  of  the  late  President  Van 
Buren,  the  first  act  of  whose  administration  was  a  pledge 
to  refuse  his  signature  to  any  bill  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  I  fear  it  is  unde¬ 
niable  that  in  the  last  eight  years  the  collective  influence 


AND  THE  ABOLITION  CAUSE. 


159 


of  the  Society  has  been  thrown  into  the  pro-slavery  scale, 
and  this  notwithstanding  the  existence  of  much  diffused 
and  passive  sympathy  and  right  feeling  on  behalf  of  the 
slave,  in  the  breasts  of  probably  a  large  majority  of  indi¬ 
vidual  members.  The  abolitionists  of  the  United  States 
have  been  treated  by  too  many  influential  Friends,  as  well 
as  by  the  leading  professors  of  other  denominations,  as  a 
party  whose  contact  is  contamination ;  yet  to  a  by¬ 
stander  it  is  plainly  obvious  that  the  true  grounds  of 
offence  are  not  always  those  ostensibly  alleged,  but  the 
activity,  zeal,  and  success  with  which  they  have  cleared 
themselves  of  participation  in  other  men’s  sins,  and  by 
which  they  have  condemned  the  passive  acquiescence  of 
a  society  making  a  high  profession  of  anti-slavery  prin¬ 
ciples.  I  do  not  intend  to  defend  all  the  proceedings  of 
the  anti-slavery  societies.  That  they  have  sometimes 
erred  in  judgment  and  action, — that  they  have  had  un¬ 
worthy  men  among  their  members,  I  have  little  doubt. 
But,  the  same  objections  might  have  been  raised  to  the 
old  anti-slavery  societies,  in  which  the  leading  Friends  of 
the  United  States  took  an  active  part  with  their  neighbors 
of  other  denominations,  and  with  far  greater  force  against 
the  Colonization  Society,  which  is  patronized,  even  to 
this  day,  both  by  individual  members  and  by  at  least  one 
Meeting  of  Sufferings.*  The  causes  that  have  produced 
the  state  of  things  I  have  attempted  to  describe,  derive 
their  origin,  I  believe,  from  one  source — inaction.  After 
the  Society  of  Friends  had  purified  itself  from  slave¬ 
holding,  it  gradually  subsided  into  a  state  of  rest,  and 
finally  lapsed  into  lethargy  and  indifference  on  this 


*  See  Appendix  K. 


160 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


question.  In  the  world  we  live  in,  evil  is  the  quick  and 
spontaneous  growth,  while  good  is  the  forced  and  difficult 
culture.  Good  principles  can  only  be  preserved  bright, 
pure,  and  efficient,  by  watchful  care  and  constant  use  ;  if 
laid  aside,  they  rust  and  perish.  These  are  the  necessary 
effects  of  the  fall  of  man  by  disobedience  from  that  state 
of  happiness  and  holiness  in  which  he  was  formed  by  a 
beneficent  Creator.  In  a  state  of  inaction,  Friends  have 
been  exposed  to  the  influences  of  a  corrupt  public  senti¬ 
ment  ;  they  have,  to  a  considerable  extent,  imbibed  the 
prejudice  against  color,  while  some  of  them  have  been 
caught  by  the  gilded  bait  of  southern  commerce. 

In  a  former  part  of  this  work  I  have  briefly  alluded  to 
that  memorable  reformation,  which,  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  preceding  century,  purged  the  Society  of  Friends 
from  the  heinous  sins  of  slave  trading  and  holding  slaves. 
This  reformation  in  Great  Britain,  with  perhaps  a  few  in¬ 
dividual  exceptions,  consisted  merely  in  the  adoption  of 
new  convictions,  and  the  abandonment  of  lax  opinions  ; 
but,  on  the  American  continent,  it  was  sealed  by  the 
willing  sacrifice  of  an  immense  amount  of  property.  One 
can  scarcely  avoid  looking  back  with  regret  to  times  when 
convictions  of  duty  had  such  power,  when  Christian  prin¬ 
ciple  was  carried  out,  whatever  the  cost.  Then,  indeed, 
was  exhibited,  by  the  American  Friends,  the  fruit  of  a 
world-overcoming  faith.  It  must  be  confessed  that  the 
present  position  of  their  descendants  presents  an  unpleasing 
contrast ;  yet  I  trust,  that  from  all  I  have  written,  the 
conclusion  will  be  drawn,  that  I  look  forward  to  the  future 
with  hope ;  though  it  is  a  hope  chastened  with  fear. 
Next  to  a  fervent  desire  that  slavery  may  be  speedily 
abolished,  it  is  one  of  the  warmest  wishes  of  my  heart, 


COLORED  SCHOOLS. 


161 


that  the  “  Society  of  Friends”  in  America,  may  be  among 
the  chiefly  honored  agents  in  accomplishing,  in  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  Jesus  Christ,  so  great  a  work,  thereby  con¬ 
tributing  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  angelic  prophecy  of 
“  Glory  to  God,  and  good  will  to  man.” 

1  subsequently  visited,  in  company  with  a  colored 
gentleman,  one  of  the  principal  colored  schools  in  New 
York,  in  which  there  were  upwards  of  three  hundred 
children  present.  All  the  departments  appeared  to  be 
conducted,  under  colored  teachers,  with  great  order  and 
efficiency,  and  the  attainments  of  the  higher  classes  were 
very  considerable.  On  the  whole,  this  school  would  bear 
comparison  with  any  similar  school  for  white  children 
which  I  ever  visited. 

Having  received  from  Great  Britain  the  minutes  of  a 
special  meeting  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  called  to  con¬ 
sider  the  time  of  holding  a  second  General  Convention, 
I  met  some  of  the  friends  of  the  cause  in  New  York, 
together  with  John  G.  Whittier  and  Elizur  Wright,  of 
Boston,  to  obtain  an  interchange  of  their  sentiments  on 
the  same  subject.  After  considerable  discussion,  they 
unanimously  concluded  to  leave  the  decision  as  to  the 
time  of  holding  a  future  Convention  to  the  London  Com¬ 
mittee —  the  question  of  time  being  the  summer  of  1842 
or  1843. 

The  numerous  persons  on  whom  I  called,  before 
leaving  New  York,  concurred  uniformly  in  the  belief  that 
public  opinion  was  steadily,  and  somewhat  rapidly  advan¬ 
cing,  in  favor  of  emancipation,  and  that  the  prejudice 
against  color  was  lessening. 

The  unanimity  I  found  in  the  opinion  that  public 
feeling  in  favor  of  peace  was  continually  strengthening, 
14  * 


162 


SING  SING. 


was  very  encouraging.  All  whom  I  consulted,  approved 
of  the  suggestion  of  Judge  Jay,  already  mentioned,  though 
I  had  no  suitable  opportunity  of  obtaining  the  collective 
sentiments  of  the  friends  of  peace  in  New  York  upon  it. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Vigilance  Committee,  an  asso¬ 
ciation  existing  in  several  of  the  Northern  cities,  formed  to 
aid  runaway  slaves  in  escaping  to  a  place  of  safety,  as  well 
as  to  protect  the  free  colored  people  from  kidnappers, 
informed  me  that  the  number  of  slaves  who  applied  for 
assistance  was  constantly  on  the  increase.  He  said  that, 
only  a  few  days  before,  a  man,  who  was  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel,  who  was  escaping  to  Canada,  called  upon  him  ; 
and  on  being  asked  why  he  was  fleeing  from  slavery,  he 
exposed  his  naked  back,  lacerated  with  a  recent  flogging, 
and  said  that  he  had  received  that  punishment  for  going  to 
his  place  of  worship. 

On  the  evening  of  the  24th  I  went  up  the  river  Hud¬ 
son  to  Sing  Sing,  in  company  with  Lewis  Tappan.  Our 
object  was  to  spend  the  next  day,  which  was  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  in  this  celebrated  state  prison.  We  lodged 
at  a  quiet  hotel,  on  an  eminence  above  the  village  ;  and 
next  morning,  about  eight  o’clock,  we  went  to  the  prison, 
where  we  were  very  kindly  received  by  the  superintend¬ 
ent,  J.  G.  Seymour,  and  by  the  chaplain.  Soon  after¬ 
wards,  we  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  all  the  male 
prisoners,  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty,  in  the  chapel,  when 
they  were  addressed  by  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
persuasion,  whom  we  had  met  on  board  the  steamer,  and 
whom  Lewis  Tappan  had  invited  to  be  there.  We  were 
informed  that  about  one-third  of  the  prisoners  were  colored  : 
these  did  not  sit  separate,  but  were  intermixed  with  the 
rest.  In  general,  however,  the  striking  language  of  De 


SING  SING. 


163 


Beaumont,  a  late  French  traveller  in  the  United  States, 
will  be  found  true.  “  The  prejudice  against  color  haunts 
its  victim  wherever  he  goes,  —  in  the  hospitals  where  hu¬ 
manity  suffers,  —  in  the  churches  where  it  kneels  to  God, 
—  in  the  prisons  where  it  expiates  its  offences ,  —  in  the 
grave-yards  where  it  sleeps  the  last  sleep.” 

From  hence  we  proceeded  to  the  female  department, 
where  about  eighty  were  assembled,  some  of  whom 
seemed  much  affected  by  an  address  from  my  friend, 
Lewis  Tappan.  He  told  them  he  saw  at  least  one 
present  who  had  been  a  scholar  in  his  colored  Sabbath 
School  at  New  York.  The  white  women  were  placed 
in  the  front  seats,  and  the  colored  behind  them.  We 
next  went  to  the  Sabbath  School  for  the  male  prisoners, 
held  in  the  chapel,  where  the  attendance  is  general, 
though  perfectly  voluntary.  Twenty-five  of  the  best 
educated  and  most  orderly  prisoners  are  allowed  to  teach 
classes  :  the  other  teachers  were  officers  of  the  prison,  and 
other  persons  attracted  hither  by  benevolent  motives ;  and 
I  was  told  the  teachers  selected  among  the  convicts  had 
not  once  been  detected  in  the  abuse  of  this  privilege,  by 
entering  into  conversation  on  other  topics.  On  the 
breaking  up  of  the  school,  Lewis  Tappan  addressed  them, 
and  I  added  a  few  words.  We  were  kindly  invited  to 
dine  with  the  matron.  She  mentioned  one  instance  of 
complete  reformation  in  a  female,  which  was  to  be  attri¬ 
buted  she  believed,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  to  the 
ministry  of  Joseph  J.  Gurney,  who  visited  Sing  Sing,  in 
the  course  of  his  religious  labors  in  the  United  States. 

After  dinner  we  were  permitted  to  visit  the  male 
prisoners  at  their  cells,  list  shoes  being  provided  for  us 
that  we  might  walk  along  the  galleries  without  noise. 


164 


SING  SING. 


Those  who  wished  to  do  so,  were  suffered  to  speak  to  us 
through  their  grated  doors,  in  a  low  voice.  A  number 
embraced  this  opportunity ;  of  the  sincere  repentance  and 
reformation  of  some  of  whom,  I  could  scarcely  doubt. 
One  prisoner,  a  man  of  color,  appeared  to  enjoy  a  state  of 
perfect  happiness,  under  a  sense  of  being  at  peace  with 
his  Maker.  Another  manifested  such  a  feeling  of  his 
spiritual  blessings,  and  especially  of  that  change  of  heart 
he  had  been  favored  to  experience,  as  scarcely  to  have  a 
desire  for  his  liberation,  though  his  health  was  visibly 
sinking  under  the  confinement,  and  there  appeared  little 
other  prospect  but  that  of  his  dying  in  the  prison,  as  he 
had  been  condemned  for  ten  years,  of  which  three  yet 
remained.  Several  were  Englishmen,  who  were  mostly 
under  feigned  names,  keeping  their  real  names  secret, 
from  a  natural  unwillingness  to  disgrace  their  families. 
Some  of  these  were  men  of  education,  and  communicated 
to  me  in  confidence  their  family  names.  One  referred  to 
gentlemen  standing  deservedly  high  in  the  estimation  of 
the  British  public,  as  well  knowing  him.  Two  or  three 
of  this  class  wept  much,  when  speaking  of  their  situation, 
and  of  the  offences  that  had  brought  them  there. 

I  gathered  from  the  prisoners  themselves  that  a  great 
change  had  been  introduced,  both  in  the  affairs  and  in  the 
management  of  the  prison,  within  the  last  eighteen  months, 
by  the  present  excellent  superintendent  and  chaplain  and 
their  coadjutors,  and  with  the  happiest  effects.  The 
former  system  was  one  of  brutal  severity  ;  now,  without 
any  relaxation  of  discipline,  needless  severity  is  discarded, 
and  the  floggings  have  been  reduced  nine-tenths,  the  great 
object  being  the  reformation  of  the  prisoners.  One  of 
these,  speaking  of  the  superintendent  and  chaplain,  said  : 


SING  SING. 


165 


“  there  was  not  a  prisoner  in  the  jail,  but  rejoiced  to  hear 
the  sound  of  their  feet.” 

J.  G.  Seymour  mentioned  one  of  the  English  prisoners 
to  me,  whose  heart  had  been  softened,  and  his  reforma¬ 
tion  commenced,  through  the  kindness  of  his  prosecutor, 
who  had  spent  both  time  and  money  in  endeavoring  to 
procure  his  release.  This  statement  was  fully  confirmed 
in  an  interesting  conversation  I  had  with  the  individual 
himself,  who  was  subsequently  permitted,  as  well  as 
another  Englishman,  to  send  letters  by  me  to  their  relations 
in  this  country. 

An  extract  from  the  correspondence  of  one  of  my 
unfortunate  fellow-countrymen,  which  I  am  permitted  to 
make,  will  afford  an  interesting  view  of  the  internal  admin¬ 
istration  of  the  Sing  Sing  prison,  by  one  of  its  inmates. 
After  alluding  to  the  absolute  monotony  of  prison  life,  he 
gives  one  day  as  a  specimen  of  every  day.  “  Monday 
morning,  the  large  prison  bell  rings  at  five  o’clock,  when 
we  all  rise ;  half  an  hour  after,  we  all  go  out  to  work,  to 
our  respective  shops,  till  breakfast,  the  keepers  all  the  time 
seated  upon  a  high  seat,  overlooking — seeing  that  every¬ 
thing  is  ordered  and  going  on  in  a  proper  manner:  no 
talking  allowed  upon  any  occasion,  or  under  any  pretence 
whatever.  When  the  breakfast-bell  rings,  we  all  go  in  to 
breakfast,  each  one  to  a  separate  room,  (which  are  all 
numbered,  one  thousand  in  all ;)  every  man’s  breakfast  is 
ready  for  him  in  his  room,  —  one  pint  of  coffee,  with 
plenty  of  meat,  potatoes,  and  rye  bread.  After  one  hour, 
the  prison  opens  again,  and  we  work  in  a  similar  manner 
till  twelve  —  dinner  hour —  when  we  go  in  again.  Dinner 
is  set  ready  as  before, -—an  ample  quantity  of  meat, 
potatoes,  and  bread,  with  a  cup  of  water,  (the  best  beve- 


166 


SING  SING. 


rage  in  the  world  —  would  to  God  I  had  never  drank  any 
thing  else,  and  I  should  not  have  been  here  ;  )  one  hour 
allowed  for  dinner,  when  we  go  out  and  work  again  till  six 
o’clock,  when  we  come  in  and  are  locked  up  for  the  night, 
with  a  large  bowl  of  mush,  (hasty  pudding  with  molasses,) 
the  finest  food  in  the  world,  made  from  Indian  meal. 
Thus  passes  each  day  of  the  week.  Sundays  we  rise  at 
the  same  hour ;  each  man  has  a  clean  shirt  given  him  in 
his  room,  then  goes  to  the  kitchen,  brings  his  breakfast  in 
with  him,  the  same  as  before,  and  is  locked  up  till  eight, 
when  Divine  service  is  performed  by  a  most  worthy  and 
able  chaplain.  After  service,  through  the  pious  and 
benevolent  efforts  of  Mr.  Seymour,  we  have  an  excellent 
Sabbath  School.  Bible  classes,  where  from  three  to  four 
hundred  attend,  about  half  to  learn  to  read,  and  the  others 
to  receive  instruction  in  the  way  to  attain  everlasting  life, 
under  the  immediate  inspection  of  Mr.  Seymour ;  and  I 
am  happy  to  say,  that  the  greatest  attention  is  paid  by 
scholars  of  both  classes :  many,  very  many,  know  how  to 
appreciate  the  value  of  these  privileges,  and  benefit  by 
them  accordingly.  Mr.  Seymour  has  obtained  a  large 
library  for  us,  and  one  of  the  prisoners  is  librarian.  At 
eleven  o’clock  we  are  locked  up  for  the  day,  with  an  extra 
allowance  of  food  and  water  sufficient.  The  librarian  and 
an  assistant  are  left  open,  to  distribute  the  books  ;  that  is 
to  go  to  each  man’s  cell,  get  the  book  he  had  the  previous 
Sunday,  and  give  him  another  in  exchange,  generally  sup¬ 
plying  them  with  a  small  tract,  of  which  we  mostly  have 
a  great  plenty.” 

A  large  proportion  of  the  prisoners  work  in  a  stone 
quarry  without  the  walls  ;  and  the  most  painful  sight 
I  saw  at  Sing  Sing  were  the  sentinels  placed  on  prominent 


SING  SING. 


167 


points  commanding  the  prison,  with  loaded  muskets  and 
fixed  bayonets,  who  have  orders  at  once  to  shoot  a  convict 
who  may  attempt  to  escape,  if  he  does  not  obey  the  order 
to  return.  I  was  told,  however,  an  occurrence  of  the  kind 
had  not  happened  for  years. 

A  number  of  the  female  domestics  in  different  families 
in  the  village  of  Sing  Sing,  have  been  prisoners,  and  are 
now  reformed  and  generally  conducting  themselves  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  their  employers. 

There  are  few  subjects  more  interesting  to  a  civilized 
and  Christian  community,  than  that  of  prison  discipline. 
It  will  scarcely,  at  the  present  day,  be  denied  that  the 
only  motives  on  which,  in  such  a  government,  criminal 
law  can  be  administered,  are  the  public  safety,  and  the 
reformation  of  the  criminal  himself.  Vengeance  has  not 
been  delegated  to  man  under  the  Christian  dispensation. 
It  is  too  evident,  nevertheless,  that  the  principle  of  retalia¬ 
tory  punishment,  irrespective  of  any  considerations  of 
public  safety,  or  the  benefit  of  the  offender,  pervades  our 
criminal  jurisprudence,  both  in  theory  and  practice,  and 
just  so  far  as  this  is  the  case,  is  the  last  great  object 
defeated,  for  his  feelings  are  deadened,  and  his  heart  hard¬ 
ened  by  it.  The  most  depraved  wretch  has  that  within 
him  which  testifies  that  his  fellow  wortn  has  no  right  to 
inflict  pain  upon  him  solely  as  a  punishment ,  and  his  heart 
rebels  against  what  he  feels  to  be  oppression.  On  the 
more  enlightened,  the  effect  is  equally  unfavorable,  for 
he  contrasts  the  practice  of  his  persecutors  with  their  pro¬ 
fession,  and  is  perhaps  conducted  thereby  to  infidelity  and 
despair.  One  of  the  prisoners  at  Sing  Sing,  while  con¬ 
trasting  the  former  with  the  present  management,  said, 
“  We  used  to  hear  the  gospel  preached  to  us  on  the  Sab- 


168 


PRISON  DISCIPLINE. 


bath,  but  see  its  doctrines  trampled  upon  in  all  the  conduct 
pursued  towards  us  the  whole  week  besides.”  How 
different  the  result  where  the  law  of  love  reigns  !  At 
Sing  Sing  there  are  numerous  recent  instances  where  con¬ 
viction  on  the  minds  of  the  prisoners  that  the  authorities 
of  the  prison  have  no  other  object  than  their  temporal  and 
spiritual  benefit,  has  softened  their  hearts,  and  thereby- 
disposed  them  to  the  reception  of  that  consoling  faith  in  a 
crucified  Saviour,  which  is  the  only  foundation  of  true 
amendment  of  life.  How  important  is  it  that  all  the  offices 
in. a  prison  should  be  filled  by  persons  of  true  piety  ;  and 
where  can  such  be  more  usefully  employed? 

In  a  former  part  of  this  work,  I  have  expressed  a 
somewhat  unfavorable  opinion  on  “  the  separate  system,” 
adopted  in  the  Philadelphia  Penitentiary.  One  of  my 
objections  to  this  system  is  this,  that  to  deprive  man  so 
entirely  of  human  society,  is  to  do  violence  to  the  strong¬ 
est  instinct  of  his  nature,  and  thereby  to  inflict  suffering 
far  more  severe  than  corporeal  pain  or  privation.  If  the 
severity  of  this  system  does  not  obviously  tend  to  carry 
out  the  legitimate  objects  of  prison  discipline,  it  cannot  be 
defended.  The  small  number  of  recommittals  is  no  proof 
of  the  efficacy  of  this  system  ;  since,  in  a  country  like 
the  United  States,  a  liberated  felon  may  very  easily 
choose  another  locality  for  his  sphere  of  action.  In  favor 
of  the  “  separate  system,”  it  is  occasionally  pleaded  that 
the  prisoner  is  under  a  veil  of  secresy ;  and  that  when  he 
goes  forth,  neither  the  censorious  public,  nor  his  fellow- 
prisoners,  can  point  him  out ;  and  thus,  his  character 
being  comparatively  unblemished,  he  can,  with  less  diffi¬ 
culty,  procure  employment.  It  is  obvious  that  this  would 
induce,  in  many  cases,  a  degree  of  dishonest  concealment 


JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY. 


169 


from  an  employer,  and  encourage  dissimulation.  It  would 
be  much  better  that  the  prisoner  should  depend  for  a 
situation  on  the  good  character  which  the  superintendent 
would  give  him  if  reformed;  and  I  was  glad  to  find  at 
Sing  Sing  guarded  situations  had  been  procured,  in 
numerous  instances,  for  the  liberated  prisoners,  and  that 
their  employers,  with  very  little  exception,  represented 
them  to  be  most  valuable  servants.  I  could  hear  of  no 
case,  in  either  of  the  prisons  I  visited,  of  any  permanent 
injury  to  the  health  of  a  prisoner  from  the  entire  disuse  of 
intoxicating  drinks,  however  intemperate  their  previous 
habits  might  have  been.  The  same  remark  is  true  with 
regard  to  tobacco.  I  will  only  add,  that  it  is  notorious 
that  the  prison  discipline  of  Great  Britain,  notwithstanding 
all  its  recent  improvements,  is  yet  lamentably  deficient ; 
and  that  though  the  United  States  justly  claim  precedence 
of  us  in  this  respect,  they  have,  by  no  means  reached 
perfection.  The  greatest  deficiency  of  all,  however,  in 
each  nation,  is  that  of  institutions  like  the  Philadelphia 
Refuge,  co-extensive  with  the  wants  of  the  community, 
for  the  reformation  of  juvenile  delinquency  ;  thus  suppress¬ 
ing  crime  in  its  small  beginnings.  So  long  as  this  want 
is  unsupplied,  and  the  juvenile  offender  is  contaminated  by 
contact  with  the  hardened  criminal,  the  statesmen  and 
those  who  control  the  legislatures  of  both  countries,  dis¬ 
honor  their  profession  of  Christianity. 

On  the  26th,  I  accompanied  my  friends,  J.  and  M. 
Candler,  to  the  steamer  which  was  to  convey  them  on 
board  the  “Roscius”  packet,  to  sail  for  Liverpool  this 
afternoon.  I  afterwards  called  upon  Charles  Collins, 
who,  for  many  years  past,  has  dealt  exclusively  in  articles 
of  free  labor  produce,  and  for  which  he  said  he  had  found 

15 


170 


BOSTON. 


the  demand  to  increase  of  late.  I  am  more  and  more 
convinced  that  this  branch  of  the  abolition  question  has 
not  received  the  attention  it  deserves  from  the  friends  of 
the  cause.  Before  leaving  New  York,  1  ought  not  to 
omit  to  record  a  visit  that  was  on  a  previous  occasion 
paid  us  at  our  hotel,  by  William  Cullen  Bryant,  whose 
name  on  this  side  of  the  water  is  associated  with  some  of 
the  most  beautiful  productions  of  American  literature. 
He  is  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  a  lead¬ 
ing  democratic  paper,  and,  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  he  has 
always  advocated  the  rights  of  the  abolitionists.  He  has 
a  thin,  pale,  thought-worn  countenance,  and  his  manner 
is  quiet  and  unassuming.  I  also  formed  an  agreeable 
acquaintance  with  Lydia  Maria  Child,  known  in  both 
hemispheres  as  one  of  the  most  pleasing  of  American 
writers.  She  is  editor  of  the  National  Anti-Slavery 
Standard.  Her  services  in  the  cause  of  the  slave  have 
been  of  great  value,  and  have  been  given  at  the  risk  of 
destroying  her  interests  and  popularity  as  an  author. 

I  finally  quitted  this  city,  in  the  steamer,  for  Boston, 
on  the  24th,  accompanied  by  John  G.  Whittier. 

I  remained  in  Boston  till  the  first  of  the  Eighth 
Month,  (August)  when  I  embarked  on  board  the  “  Cale¬ 
donia”  steamer  for  England.  —  During  the  interval,  I 
made  a  number  of  calls  upon  the  abolitionists  in  Boston ; 
and,  among  others,  saw  Henry  and  Maria  Chapman  and 
Wendell  Phillips;  the  former  of  whom  had  just  returned 
from  a  visit  to  Hayti,  and  the  latter  from  Europe.  I 
had  several  interviews  with  Martha  V.  and  Lucy  M. 
Ball,  secretaries  of  the  Boston  Female  Emancipation 
Society,  who  have  long  been  faithful  and  laborious  aboli¬ 
tionists.  I  also  met,  as  at  New  York,  a  number  of  the 


RAIL  ROAD  TRAVELLING. 


171 


friends  of  the  cause,  again  to  consider  the  best  time  for 
calling  a  second  general  Convention,  to  whom  I  read  the 
London  minutes  on  that  subject.  A  resolution  was 
unanimously  passed,  of  the  same  tenor  as  those  of  New 
York,  lately  noticed.  While  in  this  city,  I  had  not  only 
the  pleasure  of  renewing  my  intimacy  with  my  friend, 
Nathaniel  Colver,  who  is  known  to  many  of  the  English 
abolitionists  as  their  valuable  and  cordial  coadjutor  at  the 
great  Convention  in  London,  but  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  many  zealous  and  able  friends  of  the  slave.  One  of 
these  was  Amos  A.  Phelps,  one  of  those  who  signed  the 
original  declaration  issued  by  the  American  Anti-Slavery 
Society,  on  its  foundation  at  Philadelphia,  in  1833. 

We  also  went  to  Salem,  and  met  a  number  of 
“  Friends”  who  were  abolitionists,  and  who  appeared 
desirous  to  embrace  every  suitable  opportunity  of  promot¬ 
ing  the  cause. 

Salem  is  a  city  of  about  fourteen  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  I  was  told  that  the  number  of  its  population  who 
went  and  returned  to  and  from  Boston,  a  distance  of 
fourteen  miles,  weekly,  was  about  five  hundred  —  a  strik¬ 
ing  proof  of  the  locomotive  energy  of  the  Americans. 
Their  gratification,  in  this  respect,  has  been  much  facili¬ 
tated  of  late  by  the  rapid  extension  of  railways.  These, 
with  few  exceptions,  are  by  no  means  so  completely 
constructed  as  in  England ;  but,  owing  to  the  cheapness 
of  land,  timber,  et  cet.,  and  by  making  the  lines  generally 
single,  and,  on  the  average,  the  speed  of  travelling  being 
about  one-fourth  less  than  is  common  in  England,  they 
answer  the  purpose  of  rapid  transit,  while  the  outlay  is 
about  as  many  dollars  per  mile  as  it  is  sovereigns  with  us. 
On  this  railway,  and  some  others  in  New  England,  the 


172 


RAIL  ROAD  TRAVELLING. 


lines  are  double,  and  the  construction  and  speed  are 
nearly  equal  to  ours. 

I  was  informed,  the  proportion  of  severe  accidents  is 
not  larger  than  in  Great  Britain.  The  carriages  are 
generally  built  to  hold  sixty  or  seventy  persons,  who  are 
seated  two  by  two,  one  behind  another,  on  double  rows 
of  seats,  ranged  across  the  carriage,  with  room  to  walk 
between,  along  the  centre.  The  carriage  in  which  we 
returned  from  Salem  had  twenty-two  seats  on  each  side, 
to  contain  two  each,  or,  in  the  whole,  eighty-eight 
passengers.  Yet  the  weight  of  this  machine  would  be 
little  more  than  that  of  an  English  first-class  carriage,  to 
hold  eighteen  persons,  and  it  cost  probably  less.  Their 
carriages  are  well  ventilated  in  summer,  and  warmed  by 
a  stove  in  winter.  Locomotive  engines  approach  Boston 
near  enough  to  prevent  the  use  of  horses ;  but,  or  arriv¬ 
ing  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  two  from  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  the  carriages  and  passengers 
are  drawn  in  by  horses.  One  carriage  is  often  specially 
reserved  for  the  ladies  on  the  principal  lines,  into  which 
gentlemen  do  not  usually  intrude,  unless  they  have  ladies 
under  their  care.  It  is  common,  however,  for  the  latter 
to  take  their  seats  in  any  of  the  carriages.  There  is  no 
distinction  of  price,  and  none  of  accommodation,  except 
that  an  inferior  and  more  exposed  carriage,  at  the  same 
fare,  is  purposely  provided  for  persons  of  color ;  but  this 
disgraceful  relic  of  past  times  cannot  survive  long.  The 
principal  disadvantage  that  I  observed  on  the  American, 
as  compared  with  the  English  railways,  was  the  delay  on 
meeting  other  trains,  and  on  stopping  for  them  at  places 
where  they  could  pass,  and  also  the  sparks  from  the 
wood,  used  for  fuel  instead  of  coke.  On  one  occasion, 


AMERICAN  PEACE  SOCIETY. 


173 


my  coat  was  set  on  fire  in  this  way,  though  I  was  seated 
in  a  covered  carriage.  Very  efficient  locomotive  engines 
are  made  in  the  United  States.  I  visited  a  celebrated 
manufactory  at  Philadelphia,  which  has  sent  ten  to 
England,  for  the  use  of  the  Birmingham  and  Gloucester 
Railway.  At  the  time  of  my  visit,  they  had  many 
orders  unexecuted  from  several  European  governments. 
As  far  as  my  inquiries  went,  the  cost  of  making  them  is, 
upon  the  whole,  about  the  same  as  in  England. 

Having  been,  for  several  years,  a  director  on  the 
Birmingham  and  London  Railway,  I  felt  some  interest 
in  these  inquiries,  and  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  there 
are  several  arrangements  of  economy,  and  some  of  con¬ 
venience,  in  the  construction  and  working  of  railways, 
which  the  English  might  borrow  with  advantage  from  the 
United  States. 

On  the  29th  instant,  the  secretary  of  the  Peace 
Society  convened  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  that 
society,  and  of  other  influential  gentlemen,  including 
Alden  Bradford,  late  secretary  of  the  State  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  ;  Robert  Rantoul,  an  eloquent  and  prominent  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  legislature,  and  S.  E.  Coues,  of  New  Hamp¬ 
shire,*  to  take  into  consideration  the  best  means  of 
securing  permanent  international  peace.  A  very  harmo¬ 
nious  and  satisfactory  discussion  took  place,  and  the 
following  statement  of  the  proceedings  was  subsequently 
handed  to  me  by  the  gentleman  who  officiated  as  secre¬ 
tary  to  the  meeting: 

“  A  meeting  of  the  friends  of  peace  was  held  in  the 
city  of  Boston,  on  the  evening  of  the  29th  day  of  July, 
1841. 

*  Since  elected  President  of  the  American  Peace  Society. 

15* 


174 


AMERICAN  PEACE  SOCIETY. 


“  The  meeting  was  called  for  the  purpose  of  meeting 
Mr.  Joseph  Sturge,  from  England,  and  there  were  present 
most  of  the  active  members  of  the  American  Peace  So¬ 
ciety. 

“  Amasa  Walker,  Esq.,  was  chosen  chairman  ;  and  J. 
P.  Blanchard,  secretary. 

“  Mr.  Sturge  addressed  the  meeting,  and  suggested  the 
expediency  of  calling,  at  some  future  time,  a  Convention 
of  the  friends  of  peace,  of  different  nations,  to  deliberate 
upon  the  best  method  of  adjusting  international  disputes ; 
and,  offered,  for  the  consideration  of  the  meeting,  a  plan 
proposed  by  Judge  Jay,  in  which  all  the  friends  of  peace 
could  unite. 

“  The  meeting  was  then  addressed  by  several  gentle¬ 
men,  who  cordially  approved  the  plan  proposed,  and, 
subsequently,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted. 

“Resolved,  —  That  this  meeting  receives  with  great 
pleasure  the  suggestion  of  our  friend  Joseph  Sturge,  of 
England,  of  a  general  conference  of  the  friends  of  peace, 
at  the  earliest  practical  opportunity,  at  London,  to  consult 
on  the  measures  which  are  best  adapted  to  promote  uni¬ 
versal  peace  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  ;  and  they 
respectfully  refer  the  subject  to  the  executive  committee 
of  the  American  Peace  Society,  for  their  decision,  on 
correspondence  and  consultation  with  the  friends  of  the 
cause  in  this  and  other  countries. 

“Resolved,  —  That  the  suggestion  by  Judge  Jay,  of 
the  insertion  of  a  clause  in  all  conventional  treaties 
between  nations,  mutually  binding  the  parties  to  submit  all 
international  disputes,  during  the  continuance  of  such 
treaties,  to  the  arbitration  of  some  one  or  more  friendly 


LOWELL. 


175 


powers,  presents  a  definite  and  practicable  object  of  effort, 
worthy  of  the  serious  attention  of  the  friends  of  peace. 
And  this  meeting  recommends  to  the  friends  of  the  cause, 
in  different  countries,  to  petition  their  respective  Govern¬ 
ments  in  favor  of  the  measure.” 

On  the  30th,  in  company  with  John  G.  Whittier  and 
C.  Stewart  Renshaw,  I  went  over  to  Lowell,  the  chief 
seat  of  the  woollen  and  cotton  manufacture  in  America. 
Less  than  twenty  years  ago,  there  were  not  more  than 
forty  or  fifty  houses  on  the  site  of  this  flourishing  city, 
which  now  contains  upwards  of  twenty  thousand  inhabit¬ 
ants.  Its  numerous  mills  are  all  worked  by  water  power, 
and  belong  to  incorporated  joint-stock  companies.  We 
were  obligingly  shown  over  two  of  the  largest  woollen 
and  cotton  factories,  where  every  stage  of  the  manufacture 
was  in  process,  from  the  cotton,  or  sheep’s  wool,  to  the 
finished  fabric.  We  also  visited  works,  where  the  print¬ 
ing  of  cottons  is  executed  in  a  superior  style,  besides  a 
new  process  for  dyeing  cotton  in  the  thread,  invented  by 
an  Englishman,  now  in  the  establishment.  The  follow- 
ing  abstract  of  the  manufacturing  statistics  of  Lowell,  on 
the  first  of  January,  1841,  will  show  the  great  importance 
to  which  this  new  branch  of  industry  has  attained  with 
such  unprecedented  rapidity. 

Ten  joint-stock  companies,  with  a  capital  of  ten  mil¬ 
lions  of  dollars,  having  thirty-two  woollen  and  cotton  fac¬ 
tories,  besides  print  works,  et  cet.,  with  one  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
spindles,  and  five  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
looms,  employing  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
two  males,  and  six  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty' 
females ,  who  made,  in  1840,  sixty-five  millions  eight 


176 


LOWELL. 


hundred  and  two  thousand  four  hundred  yards  of  cotton 
and  woollen  cloths,  in  which  were  consumed  twenty-one 
millions  four  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand  pounds  of 
cotton  alone. 

The  average  amount  earned  by  the  male  hands  em¬ 
ployed,  exclusive  of  their  board,  is  four  dollars  and  eighty 
cents,  or  about  twenty  shillings  sterling  per  week,  and  of 
the  females  two  dollars,  or  about  eight  shillings  and  six¬ 
pence  per  week. 

But  the  most  striking  and  gratifying  feature  of  Lowell, 
is  the  high  moral  and  intellectual  condition  of  its  working 
population.  In  looking  over  the  books  of  the  mills  we 
visited,  where  the  operatives  entered  their  names,  1 
observed  very  few  that  were  not  written  by  themselves  ; 
certainly  not  five  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  were 
signed  with  a  mark,  and  many  of  these  were  evidently 
Irish.  It  was  impossible  to  go  through  the  mills,  and 
notice  the  respectable  appearance  and  becoming  and  mod¬ 
est  deportment  of  the  “  factory  girls,”  without  forming  a 
very  favorable  estimate  of  their  character  and  position  in 
society.  But  it  would  be  difficult  indeed  for  a  passing 
observer  to  rate  them  so  high  as  they  are  proved  to  be 
by  the  statistics  of  the  place.  The  female  operatives  are 
generally  boarded  in  houses  built  and  owned  by  the  “  cor¬ 
poration  ”  for  whom  they  work,  and  which  are  placed 
under  the  superintendence  of  matrons  of  exemplary 
character,  and  skilled  in  housewifery,  who  pay  a  low  rent 
for  the  houses,  and  provide  all  necessaries  for  their  inmates, 
over  whom  they  exercise  a  general  oversight,  receiving 
about  one  dollar  and  one-third  from  each  per  week. 
Each  of  these  houses  accommodates  from  thirty  to  fifty 
young  women,  and  there  is  a  wholesome  rivalry  among 


LOWELL. 


177 


the  mistresses  which  shall  make  their  inmates  most  com¬ 
fortable.  We  visited  one  of  the  boarding  houses,  and 
were  highly  pleased  with  its  arrangement.  A  considera¬ 
ble  number  of  the  factory  girls  are  farmers’  daughters,  and 
come  hither  from  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  and  other 
distant  States,  to  work  for  two,  three,  or  four  years,  when 
they  return  to  their  native  hills,  dowered  with  a  little 
capital  of  their  own  earnings.  The  factory  operatives  at 
Lowell  form  a  community  that  commands  the  respect  of 
the  neighborhood,  and  of  all  under  whose  observation  they 
come.  No  female  of  an  immoral  character  could  remain 
a  week  in  any  of  the  mills.  The  superintendent  of  the 
Boott  Corporation  informed  me,  that,  during  the  five  and 
a  half  years  of  his  superintendence  of  that  factory, 
employing  about  nine  hundred  and  fifty  young  women,  he 
had  known  of  but  one  case  of  an  illegitimate  birth  —  and 
the  mother  was  an  Irish  “  immigrant.”  Any  male  or 
female  employed,  who  was  known  to  be  in  a  state  of 
inebriety,  would  be  at  once  dismissed. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  benevolent  and  intelligent 
superintendent  of  the  Boott  Company,  we  waited  to  see 
the  people  turn  out  to  dinner,  at  half-past  twelve  o’clock. 
We  stood  in  a  position  where  many  hundreds  passed 
under  our  review,  whose  dress,  and  quiet  and  orderly 
demeanor  would  have  done  credit  to  any  congregation 
breaking  up  from  their  place  of  worship.  One  of  the 
gentlemen  with  me,  who  is  from  a  slave  State,  where  all 
labor  is  considered  degrading,  remarked,  with  emotion, 

“  What  would  I  give  if - ,  (naming  a  near  relative  in 

the  slave  States,)  could  witness  this  only  for  a  quarter  of 
an  hour!”  We  dined  with  one  of  our  abolition  friends 
at  Lowell,  who  informed  us  that  many  hundreds  of  the 


178 


LOWELL. 


factory  girls  were  members  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society  ; 
and  that,  although  activity  in  this  cause  has  been  pretty 
much  suspended  by  the  division  in  the  ranks  of  its  friends, 
yet  there  is  no  diminution  of  good  feeling  on  the  subject. 
The  following  extracts,  from  a  pamphlet  published  by  a 
respectable  citizen  of  Lowell,  will  further  illustrate  the 
moral  statistics  of  the  place,  which,  I  believe,  can  be 
paralleled  by  no  other  manufacturing  town  in  the  world. 
The  work  is  dated  July,  1839  : — 

“  There  are  now  in  the  city  fourteen  regularly  or¬ 
ganized  religious  societies,  besides  one  or  two  others  quite 
recently  established.  Ten  of  these  societies  constitute  a 
Sabbath  School  Union.  Their  third  annual  report  was 
made  on  the  fourth  of  the  present  month,  and  it  has  been 
published  within  a  few  days.  I  derive  from  it  the  fol¬ 
lowing  facts.  The  number  of  scholars  connected  with 
the  ten  schools  at  the  time  of  making  the  report,  was  four 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty-six,  and  the  number  of 
teachers  was  four  hundred  and  thirty-three,  making  an 
aggregate  of  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-nine. 
The  number  who  joined  the  schools  during  the  year,  was 
three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy,  the  number 
who  left  was  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine.  About  three-fourths  of  the  scholars  are  females. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  latter  are  over  fifteen  years  of 
age,  and  consist  of  girls  employed  in  the  mills.  More 
than  five  hundred  of  these  scholars  have,  during  the  last 
year,  become  personally  interested  in  practical  piety,  and 
more  than  six  hundred  have  joined  themselves  to  the 
several  churches.  Now  let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
there  are  four  or  five  Sunday  Schools  in  the  city,  some  of 
which  are  large  and  flourishing,  not  included  in  this 


LOWELL. 


179 


statement.  Let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  too,  that  a  great 
proportion  of  these  scholars  are  the  factory  girls,  and 
furthermore,  that  these  most  gratifying  results  just  given, 
have  nothing  in  them  extraordinary  —  they  are  only  the 
common,  ordinary  results  of  several  of  the  past  years. 
There  has  been  no  unusual  excitement ;  no  noise,  no 
commotion.  Silently,  quietly,  unobtrusively,  from  Sab¬ 
bath  to  Sabbath,  in  these  little  nurseries  of  truth,  duty 
and  religion,  has  the  good  seed  been  sowing  and  springing 
up  —  watered  by  the  dews,  and  warmed  by  the  smiles  of 
heaven  —  to  everlasting  life.  .... 

“  I  shall  now  proceed  to  enumerate  some  of  the 
influences  which  have  been  most  powerful  in  bringing 
about  these  results.  Among  these  are  the  example  and 
watchful  care  and  oversight  of  the  boarding  house  keepers, 
the  superintendents,  and  the  overseers.  .  .  But 

a  power  vastly  more  active,  all  pervading  and  efficient, 
than  any  and  all  of  these,  is  to  be  found  in  the  jealous 
and  sleepless  watchfulness,  over  each  other,  of  the  girls 
themselves.  .  .  The  strongest  guardianship  of 

their  own  character,  as  a  class,  is  in  their  own  hands,  and 
they  will  not  suffer  either  overseer  or  superintendent  to 
be  indifferent  to  this  character  with  impunity. 

“  The  relationship  which  is  here  established  between 
the  Sunday  school  scholar  and  her  teacher  —  between  the 
member  of  the  church  and  her  pastor  —  the  attachments 
which  spring  up  between  them,  are  rendered  close  and 
strong  by  the  very  circumstances  in  which  these  girls  are 
placed.  These  relationships  and  these  attachments  take 
the  place  of  the  domestic  ties  and  the  home  affections, 
and  they  have  something  of  the  strength  and  fervency  of 
these.” 


180 


LOWELL. 


The  next  extract  shows  their  prosperity  in  a  pecu¬ 
niary  point. 

“  The  average  wages,  clear  of  board,  amount  to  about 
two  dollars  a  week.  Many  an  aged  father  or  mother,  in 
the  country,  is  made  happy  and  comfortable,  by  the  self- 
sacrificing  contributions  from  the  affectionate  and  dutiful 
daughter  here.  Many  an  old  homestead  has  been  cleared 
of  its  incumbrances,  and  thus  saved  to  the  family  by  these 
liberal  and  honest  earnings.  To  the  many  and  most 
gratifying  and  cheering  facts,  which,  in  the  course  of  this 
examination  I  have  had  occasion  to  state,  I  here  add  a 
few  others  relating  to  the  matter  now  under  discussion, 
furnished  me  by  Mr.  Carney,  the  treasurer  of  the  Lowell 
Institution  for  Savings.  The  whole  number  of  deposi¬ 
tors  in  this  institution,  on  the  23d  July,  was  nineteen 
hundred  and  seventy-six  ;  the  whole  number  of  deposits 
was  three  hundred  and  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety-six  dollars  and  seventy  cents,  (about  £60,000.) 
Of  these  depositors,  nine  hundred  and  seventy-eight  are 
factory  girls,  and  the  amount  of  their  funds  now  in  the 
bank,  is  estimated  by  Mr.  Carney,  in  round  numbers,  at 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  (about  £20,000.)  It  is  a 
common  thing  for  one  of  these  girls  to  have  five  hundred 
dollars  (about  £100  sterling)  in  deposit,  and  the  only 
reason  why  she  does  not  exceed  this  sum  is  the  fact,  that 
the  institution  pays  no  interest  on  any  larger  sum  than 
this.  After  reaching  this  amount,  she  invests  her  re¬ 
maining  funds  elsewhere. 

In  confirmation  of  this  description  of  the  state  of  the 
Lowell  population,  I  have  obtained,  through  the  kindness 
of  a  friend  in  Massachusetts,  the  following  parallel  statis¬ 
tics  to  a  recent  date  : — 


LOWELL. 


181 


“  Public  Schools. — By  the  report  of  the  school 
committee  for  the  year  ending  on  the  5th  of  Fourth 
Month  (April)  1841,  it  appears  that  the  whole  number 
of  pupils  in  the  schools,  who  attended  during  the  whole 
or  part  of  the  year,  was  5,830.  The  whole  amount  ex¬ 
pended  by  the  city  for  these  schools,  during  the  year, 
was  18,106  dollars,  51  cents. 

“  Sabbath  Schools. — The  number  of  scholars  and 
teachers  in  the  Sabbath  Schools,  connected  with  the 
various  religious  societies  in  Lowell,  during  the  year 
ending  on  the  5th  of  Seventh  Month  (July)  1841,  was 
5,493. 

“  Savings  Bank. — The  Lowell  Institution  for  Sav¬ 
ings,  in  its  report  of  Fifth  Month  (May),  1840,  acknow¬ 
ledges  328,395  dollars,  55  cents,  deposits,  from  2,137 
persons ;  together  with  16,093  dollars,  29  cents,  nett 
amount  received  for  interest  on  loans  and  dividends  in 
stocks,  less  expense  and  dividends  paid  —  making  in  all, 
344,488  dollars,  84  cents ;  nett  amount  of  interest,  24,714 
dollars,  61  cents.  Within  the  year,  120,175  dollars,  69 
cents,  had  been  deposited,  and  70,384  dollars,  24  cents, 
drawn  out. 

“  Paupers. — The  whole  expense  of  the  city  for  the 
support  of  the  poor,  during  the  year  ending  on  the  31st 
of  Twelfth  Month  (December)  1840,  was  2,698  dollars, 
61  cents.” 

As  a  proof,  slight  yet  significant,  of  the  spread  of  in¬ 
tellectual  cultivation,  I  ought  not  to  omit  a  notice  of  the 
“  Lowell  Offering,”  a  little  monthly  magazine,  of  original 
articles,  written  exclusively  by  the  factory  girls.  The 
editor  of  the  Boston  Christian  Examiner  commends  this 
little  periodical  to  those  who  consider  the  factory  system 

16 


182 


LOWELL. 


to  be  degrading  and  demoralizing  ;  and  expresses  a  doubt 
“  whether  a  committee  of  young  ladies,  selected  from  the 
most  refined  and  best  educated  families  in  any  of  our 
towns  and  cities,  could  make  a  fairer  appearance  in  type 
than  these  hard-working  factory  girls.” 

The  city  of  Lowell  has  been  distinguished  by  British 
tourists  as  the  Manchester  of  the  United  States ;  but,  in 
view  of  the  facts  above  related,  an  American  has  declared 
it  to  be  “  not  the  Manchester  of  the  United  States.” 

Besides  the  general  prosperity  of  the  operatives,  the 
shareholders  in  the  different  corporations  divide  from 
eight  to  fifteen  per  cent,  per  annum  on  their  capital. 

The  inquiry  naturally  suggests  itself,  why  the  state 
of  things  in  the  manufacturing  districts  of  Great  Britain 
should  be  so  widely  different  from  this  ?  Some  may 
satisfy  themselves  by  recollecting  that  England  is  an  old 
and  America  a  young  country  ;  though,  to  my  mind,  this 
affords  no  reasonable  explanation  of  the  contrast  —  since, 
from  the  possession  of  surplus  capital,  complete  machine¬ 
ry,  and  facility  of  communication,  et  cet.,  the  advantages 
for  commerce  and  manufactures ,  under  a  system  of  per¬ 
fectly  unrestricted  exchange,  must  preponderate  greatly 
in  favor  of  the  former.  But  whatever  the  solution  of  the 
difficulty,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  statesman  who  would 
elevate  the  moral  standard  of  our  working  population, 
must  begin  by  removing  the  physical  depression  and  desti¬ 
tution  in  which  a  large  proportion  of  them,  without  any 
fault  of  their  own,  are  compelled  to  drag  out  a  weary  and 
almost  hopeless  existence.  To  some  peculiarly  constituted 
minds,  “  over-production”  is  the  explanation  of  the  present 
appalling  distresses  of  this  country  ;  and  what  they  are 
pleased  to  consider  a  healthy  state  of  things,  is  to  be  re- 


FREE  TRADE. 


183 


stored  by  a  diminution  of  production;  —  yet  nothing  is 
more  certain,  than  that  the  largest  amount  of  production 
which  has  ever  been  reached,  is  not  more  than  adequate 
to  supply  our  increasing  population  with  the  necessaries  of 
lifei  on  even  a  very  limited  scale  of  comfort.  A  diminished 
production  implies  the  starving  down  of  the  population  to 
such  a  diminished  number  as  may  obtain  leave  to  toil,  and 
leave  to  subsist,  from  legislators,  who,  either  in  ignorance 
or  selfishness,  set  aside  nature’s  laws,  and  disregard  the 
plainly  legible  ordinances  of  Divine  Providence.  If  we 
reflect  on  the  part  which  commerce  is  made  to  perform  in 
the  moral  government  of  the  world,  on  the  one  hand  as  the 
bond  of  peace  between  powerful  nations,  by  creating  a 
perpetual  interchange  of  temporal  benefits  ;  and,  on  the 
other,  as  the  channel  for  the  diffusion  of  blessings  of  an 
intellectual  and  spiritual  kind  ;  we  are  conducted  irre- 
skti'ily  to  the  conclusion,  that  any  arbitrary  interruption  of 
its  free  course  must  draw  down  its  own  punishment. 

Though  the  laws  of  nature  may  not  permit  the  limited 
soil  of  this  country  to  grow  food  enough  for  its  teeming 
population,  yet  while  Great  Britain  possesses  mineral 
wealth,  abundant  capital,  and  the  largest  amount  of  skilled 
industry  of  any  nation  in  the  world,  the  tributary  supplies 
of  other  countries  would  not  only  satisfy  our  present 
wants,  but  would,  I  firmly  believe,  with  an  unfettered 
commerce,  raise  our  working  population,  the  most  nume¬ 
rous,  and  by  far  the  most  important  part  of  the  community, 
to  the  same  level  of  prosperity  as  the  same  class  in  the 
United  States.  Then  would  there  be  more  hope  for  the 
success  of  efforts  to  elevate  the  standard  of  moral  and 
intellectual  cultivation  among  them,  for  as  an  improvable 
material  they  are  no  way  inferior  to  any  population  upon 


184 


FREE  TRADE. 


earth.  John  Curtis  of  Ohio,  a  free  trade  missionary  to 
this  country,  has  published  a  pamphlet  full  of  important 
statistical  facts,  illustrating  the  suicidal  policy  of  Great 
Britain,  from  which  I  venture  to  take  the  following 
extracts  : 

“  England  already  obtains  luxuries  in  superabundance  ; 
but  these  can  never  supply  the  wants  of  her  artizans  — 
they  demand  substantial  bread  and  meat,  and  a  market 
where  their  labor  can  procure  these  necessaries.  Tropical 
climates  are  not  adapted  to  supply  their  wants.  For  this 
reason  trade  either  with  the  East  or  West  Indies  cannot 
give  effectual  relief :  it  may  furnish  luxuries,  but  England 
is  overstocked  with  them  already.  The  food  of  tropical 
climates,  with  the  exception  of  rice,  is  not  calculated  for 
export.  The  people  of  England,  if  they  are  to  import 
food,  need  the  production  of  a  climate  similar  to  their  own. 
In  this  respect  America  is  well  adapted  to  supply  them. 

“  All  parts  of  the  United  States  between  thirty-seven 
and  forty-four  degrees  of  north  latitude  will  produce 
wheat.  But  that  part  of  the  country  best  adapted  to 
furnish  an  abundant  supply  is,  beyond  all  question,  the 
northern  part  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  the  contiguous 
country  south  of  the  great  lakes.  It  has  been  styled  par 
excellence  the  wheat-growing  region  of  America.  Within 
its  limits  lie  the  six  north-western  States  of  the  American 
Union,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Iowa,  and  Wis- 
konsan  (including  as  States  the  two  territories  of  Iowa 
and  Wiskonsan,  about  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union.) 
These  States,  exclusive  of  two  hundred  thousand  square 
miles,  the  title  to  which  is  yet  mostly  in  the  Indian  tribes, 
cover  an  area  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand  and 
eleven  square  miles.  The  country  is,  generally,  an  undu- 


FREE  TRADE. 


185 


Iating  prairie,  interspersed  with  groves  of  trees,  and 
unbroken  by  hill  or  mountain.  The  soil  commonly  rests 
upon  a  strata  of  limestone,  is  fertile  beyond  description, 
and  abundantly  watered  by  the  finest  springs  and  streams. 
Its  climate  is  clear  and  salubrious,  and  the  country  as  well 
calculated  as  any  other  on  the  globe  to  minister  to  the 
support  and  happiness  of  civilized  man.  As  already 
explained,  for  an  inland  country,  it  possesses  unequalled 
facilities  for  foreign  intercourse  and  commerce,  by  means 
of  its  great  lakes  and  rivers.  The  most  distant  parts  of 
it  are  now  reached  in  twenty  days  from  Liverpool.  The 
energies  of  the  American  people  have  been  chiefly 
expended,  during  the  last  few  years,  in  opening  and  taking 
possession  of  this  region,  which  they  consider  destined  to 
become  the  future  seat  of  American  wealth  and  greatness. 

“  Wheat  once  formed  a  leading  article  in  the  exports 
of  the  United  States.  The  trade  of  that  country  with 
Great  Britain  was  then  double  the  present  amount  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  the  population.  Had  the 
trade  of  the  two  countries  continued  free,  it  would  have 
increased  with  the  increase  of  population  and  capital. 
The  legitimate  exchange  trade  has  decreased  between 
England  and  America  for  thirty  years.  What  part  has 
the  restrictive  system  had  in  producing  this  result?  A 
few  facts  may  enable  us  not  only  to  answer  this  question, 
but  to  anticipate  the  consequences  of  a  continuance  of  the 
same  policy.  From  the  time  of  the  revolutionary  war  in 
America  until  1812,  the  trade  between  the  two  countries 
regularly  increased  with  the  increase  of  the  population. 
The  average  annual  consumption  of  foreign  merchandise 
in  the  United  States  for  each  inhabitant  was, 

From  1790  to  1800,  39s.  4d. 

“  1800  to  1810,  41s.  8d. 

16  * 


186 


FREE  TRADE. 


In  1812  came  the  second  American  war,  and  in  1815  the 
British  corn  law,  which  was  promptly  followed  by  the 
high  American  tariff  of  1816.  For  ten  years  prior  to 
1830,  the  annual  average  consumption  of  merchandize 
had  fallen  to  22s.  6d.,  while  the  population  of  the  States 
was  nearly  double,  and  their  capital  treble  that  of  the  ten 
years  preceding  1810.  Soon  after  1830  followed  the 
modification  of  the  American  tariff,  and  the  importations 
based  on  the  great  transatlantic  loans  of  that  period.  But, 
notwithstanding  the  stimulation  and  extravagance  of  the 
time,  the  average  annual  consumption  amounted  to  only 
31s.  per  head  of  foreign  produce  during  the  ten  years  prior 
to  1840.  Abating  the  importation  based  on  the  loans  of 
the  last  few  years,  and  the  trade  of  England  with  the 
United  States  has  not  increased  in  amount  for  the  last 
thirty  years,  while  the  population  of  England  has  increased 
from  eighteen  to  twenty-seven  millions,  and  that  of  the 
States  from  seven  to  seventeen  millions. 

“  Let  the  reader  observe  this,  that  in  the  Eastern 
States,  in  that  of  Massachusetts,  for  instance,  in  which 
State  Boston  it  situated,  the  people  bring  a  large  part  of 
their  food  from  the  Western  States,  where  they  obtain  it 
in  exchange  for  their  manufactures.  If  free  trade  were 
allowed,  is  it  possible  for  any  man  to  give  a  reason  why 
the  manufacturer  and  laborer  of  Manchester  would  not  be 
able  to  do  as  well  as  the  manufacturer  and  laborer  of 
Boston  now  does,  abating  the  difference  of  transporting 
goods  and  grain  across  the  Atlantic  ?  At  least,  the  conse¬ 
quence  would  be  an  extension  of  trade,  and  employment 
equal  to  the  amount  of  food  which  wrould,  in  such  case, 
be  brought  from  America ;  and  the  limit  to  this  quantity 
will  be  found  only  when  the  wants  of  Englishmen  are 


FREE  TRADE. 


187 


supplied,  and  their  ability  to  pay  exhausted.  The  ability 
of  America  to  supply  any  required  quantity  of  food  has 
already  been  shown.  There  lie  the  broad  lands,  ready 
for  cultivation  as  soon  as  there  shall  be  a  demand  for  the 
produce.  And  if  seventeen  millions  of  people,  sent  chiefly 
from  England,  or  descended  from  those  who  have  been 
sent,  are  not  sufficient  to  raise  the  requisite  quantity  of 
provisions  demanded  of  them  by  those  who  remain  in  the 
parent  country,  then  let  more  be  sent,  for  the  land  lies 
equally  open  to  the  people  of  all  nations. 

“  Then,  as  to  the  ability  of  Englishmen  to  pay  for  all 
they  want,  let  us  ask,  what  those  who  produce  the  food, 
or  those  who  bring  it,  can  want  in  exchange  that  England 
cannot  furnish  ?  Gold,  it  is  said.*  But  for  what  do  they 
want  gold  but  to  purchase  other  supplies  than  food  ?  and 
as  they  would  then  have  the  means  to  pay,  England 
would  be  the  very  country  which,  of  all  others,  could  sup¬ 
ply  them  to  advantage.  Whatever  was  wanted  which  her 
own  artizans  do  not  produce  themselves,  they  could  still 
supply.  Englishmen  would  not  at  all  be  confined  to  a 
direct  sale  or  exchange  of  their  goods  with  the  wheat 
grower,  but  can  give  him  the  merchandize  of  India  and 
China,  and  the  fruits  of  the  tropics,  for  which  English 
manufactures  would  pay.  If  the  idle  mills  and  idle 
laborers  of  England  could  at  once  be  set  at  work  to  pro- 

*  “  Englishmen,  reasoning  from  a  restricted  course  of  trade,  are 
constantly  prone  to  the  belief  that  the  purchase  of  foreign  corn, 
from  some  unexplained  necessity,  must  take  away  their  gold. 
Americans,  from  the  same  cause,  reason  in  the  same  manner 
respecting  the  purchase  of  foreign  goods.  Under  the  action  of  the 
restrictive  system,  there  may  be  some  truth  in  the  reasonings  of 
each  party,  but  they  certainly  form  a  beautiful  running  commen¬ 
tary  upon  each  other.” 


188 


FREE  TRADE. 


duce  food  for  the  people,  new  activity  would  be  imparted 
to  trade  in  every  part  of  the  world  —  from  India  to  the 
frozen  regions  of  Greenland  and  Labrador.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  how  is  it  possible  for  England  to  extend  her 
foreign  trade  while  the  present  restrictions  continue? 
Even  with  such  a  country  as  India,  reduced  under  British 
sway,  it  cannot  be  done  except  by  diminishing  the  com¬ 
merce  with  other  countries  to  the  same  extent.  England 
cannot,  in  her  present  condition,  greatly  increase  her  con¬ 
sumption  of  such  merchandize  as  India  can  furnish,  or 
dispose  of  such  merchandize  abroad,  to  any  great  extent, 
for  the  reasons  already  given. 

“  As  to  any  proposed  gain  by  the  Colonial  trade,  it  is 
the  very  thing  rejected  by  the  restrictions  on  the  trade 
with  the  United  States.  What  are  these  States  but  the 
greatest  colonies  ever  planted  by  Great  Britain  ?  and  their 
independence  does  not  at  all  prevent  England  from  deriv¬ 
ing  all  the  advantage  from  them  ever  to  be  derived  from 
colonies.  The  only  good  which  England  can  derive  from 
her  extensive  colonization  is  not  to  be  gained  by  swaying 
a  barren  sceptre  over  distant  colonies,  but  by  spreading 
abroad  her  race,  her  language,  her  civilization,  and  thus 
enlarging  the  sphere  of  her  commerce.  Under  a  free 
system  of  intercourse  England  would  not  derive  less 
benefit,  at  present,  from  the  United  States  than  if  they  had 
remained  a  part  of  the  British  dominions,  for  if  trade  were 
free,  they  would  not  trade  the  less  because  of  their  inde¬ 
pendence,  or  furnish  less  food,  or  at  higher  prices.  Eng¬ 
land,  however,  seems  determined  to  sacrifice  all  the 
advantages  which  naturally  accrue  to  her  from  having 
colonized  the  finest  part  of  the  New  World,  and  to  refuse 
the  abundance  and  relief  thus  providentially  prepared  by 
her  cwn  offspring.” 


FREE  TRADE. 


189 


The  great  importance  of  these  extracts  is  the  best 
apology  for  their  length  —  but  there  is  yet  another  branch 
of  the  subject.  A  country  whose  population  is  beyond 
its  means  of  supply  from  its  own  soil,  has  no  resources  but 
that  of  her  manufactures  and  foreign  trade  ;  if  these  be 
dried  up,  her  people  must  emigrate  or  starve.  But  the 
United  States  has  an  alternative,  —  her  first  and  best 
resource,  —  and  the  most  profitable  application  of  her 
industry  is  in  her  broad  and  fertile  lands,  the  superabundant 
produce  of  which  would  not  only  feed,  but,  by  exchange, 
clothe  her  population,  and  supply  them  with  all  the  com¬ 
forts  of  civilized  life.  She  cannot  avail  herself  of  this  to 
its  full  extent  without  our  aid.  But,  if  we  refuse  to  trade 
on  equal  terms,  her  wants  will  not,  therefore,  go  unsup¬ 
plied.  She  can  manufacture  for  herself  —  her  resources 
for  manufactures  and  commerce  are,  at  least,  equal  to  our 
own,  with  the  exception  of  capital  and  population,  which 
the  lapse  of  a  few  more  years  will  supply. 

“  The  present  may  justly  be  considered  a  crisis  in  the 
commercial  policy  of  America.  If  it  be  decided  that 
foreign  markets  are  to  continue  closed  against  American 
corn  —  if  England,  which  is  the  principal  corn  market  of 
the  world,  refuse  to  exchange  the  produce  of  her  mills 
and  workshops  for  that  of  the  fields  of  the  Americans, 
they  have  no  other  alternative  than  to  erect  mills  and 
workshops  from  which  to  supply  themselves.  The  effect 
of  such  a  course  would  prove  decisive  on  the  trade  with 
England,  and  go  far  to  complete  the  ruin  so  effectually  be¬ 
gun  by  the  British  com  law  and  corresponding  restrictions. 
If  forced  from  employment  on  the  land,  which  an  abundant 
and  fertile  soil  has  naturally  made  their  most  profitable 
one,  it  will  be  found  that  the  Americans  lack  neither  the 


190 


FREE  TRADE. 


talent,  the  energy,  nor  the  means,  at  once  to  extend  their 
present  manufactures  to  the  full  supply  of  their  own 
wants.  They  have  water-power,  coal,  and  iron,  in  greater 
natural  abundance  and  perfection  than  any  other  part  of 
the  world.”* 

This  is  not  mere  theory.  The  developement  is  actu¬ 
ally  begun : 

“  A  few  years  since,  the  country  smiths,  and  the 
matrons  with  their  daughters  at  the  household  wheel  and 
loom,  were  the  principal  manufacturers  of  America. 
Now  the  cotton  mills  alone  are  computed  at  one  thousand, 
and  the  capital  invested  in  manufacturing  machinery  at 
£23,500,000.  The  estimated  value  of  some  of  the  prin¬ 
cipal  articles  of  manufacture  is  as  follows : 

Woollens, . £15,750,000 

Cotton, . 11,250,000 

Leather, .  9,000,000 

Hats  and  Caps,  ....  3,575,000 

Linen, .  1,350,000 

Paper, .  1,350,000 

Glass, .  1,125,000 

Iron  and  Steel,  ....  11,250,000 

“  Some  idea  of  the  rapidity  with  which  the  American 
manufactures  are  now  capable  of  being  extended,  may  be 

*  “  The  United  States  are  computed  to  contain  not  less  than 
eighty  thousand  square  miles  of  coal,  or  sixteen  times  as  much  as 
Europe.  One  of  these  coal  fields  extends  nine  hundred  miles  in 
'  length.  The  State  of  Pennsylvania  has  ten  thousand  square  miles 
of  coal  and  iron.  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  have  two  thousand. 
All  the  north-western  States  of  America  contain  large  quantities 
of  coal.  The  coal  strata  of  the  States  generally  lie  above  the  level 
of  the  streams,  and  the  coal  is  taken  from  the  hill  sides.  The  beds 
of  coal  and  iron  are  to  a  great  extent  contiguous.” 


FREE  TRADE. 


191 


formed  from  the  past  progress  of  the  cotton  manufacture. 
The  consumption  of  raw  cotton  was, 

In  1833,  1C6,000  bales. 

1835,  236,700  “ 

1837,  246,000  “ 

1839,  276,000  “ 

“  The  United  States  already  supply  two-thirds  of 
their  own  consumption  of  cottons.  At  the  above  rate  of 
increase  —  of  nearly  fifty  per  cent,  in  five  years  —  Amer¬ 
ica  will  much  more  than  supply  its  own  market  in  five 
years  to  come.  Never  has  the  manufacturing  interest  of 
the  United  States  been  in  as  prosperous  and  sound  a  con¬ 
dition  as  at  present.  They  need  no  high  tariff  to  protect 
them  against  British  competition.  The  English  corn 
law  is  their  best  protection.” 

It  is  the  restrictive  policy  of  Great  Britain  that  has 
called  into  existence  Lowell  and  the  manufacturing  cities 
of  the  United  States,  producing  an  immense  amount  of 
articles  which  were  once  the  sole  products  of  British 
industry  and  skill.  If  the  same  policy  is  continued,  the 
prosperity  of  the  United  States  will  be  impeded,  but  that 
of  England  will  be  destroyed. 

“  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  memorial  of 
Joshua  Leavitt  to  Congress,  on  the  wheat  interests  of  the 
North  Western  States.: 

“  Should  it,  indeed,  come  to  be  settled  that  there  is  to  be  no 
foreign  market  for  these  products,  the  fine  country  under  contem¬ 
plation  is  not,  therefore,  to  be  despaired  of.  Let  the  necessity  once 
become  apparent,  and  there  will  be  but  one  mind  among  the  people 
of  the  North-west.  The  same  patriotism  which  carried  our  fathers 
through  the  self-denying  non-importation  agreements  of  the 
revolution,  will  produce  a  fixed  determination  to  build  up  a  home 


192 


FREE  TRADE. 


market,  at  every  sacrifice.  And  it  can  be  done.  What  has  been 
done  already  in  the  way  of  manufactures,  shows  that  it  can  be  done. 
The  recent  application  of  the  hot-blast  with  anthracite  coal  to  the 
making  of  iron,  and  the  discovery  of  a  mine  of  natural  steel,  would 
be  auxiliaries  of  immense  value.  We  could  draw  to  our  factories 
the  best  workmen  of  Europe,  attracted  less  by  the  temptation  of 
wages,  than  by  the  desire  to  leave  liberty  and  land  as  the  inheritance 
of  their  children.  But  it  would  take  a  long  time  to  build  up  a 
manufacturing  interest  adequate  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  North¬ 
west,  or  to  consume  the  produce  of  these  wide  fields ;  and  the 
burden  of  taxation  for  internal  improvements,  uncompleted  and 
unproductive,  would  be  very  heavy  and  hard  to  bear :  and  all  the 
population  that  is  concentrated  upon  manufactures,  is  so  much  kept 
back  from  the  occupation  of  that  noble  domain  ;  and  the  national 
treasury  would  feel  the  effects  of  the  curtailment  of  imports  and 
the  cessation  of  land  sales;  and  the  amount  of  misery  which  the 
loss  of  the  American  market  would  occasion  to  the  starviug 
operatives  and  factory  children  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
is  worthy  to  be  taken  into  the  account,  by  every  statesman  who 
has  not  forgotten  that  he  is  a  man.” 


If  we  refuse  the  Americans  as  customers,  we  compel 
them  to  become  our  rivals  ;  and,  after  supplying  their  own 
wants,  they  will  compete  with  us  for  the  trade  of  the 
world,  on  more  than  equal  terms.  Our  statesmen  may 
yet  employ  America  to  build  up  the  prosperity  of  our 
country  whilst  increasing  her  owrn,  or  they  may  suffer  its 
rapidly  developing  and  gigantic  resources  to  work  out 
our  ruin :  the  alternative  is  before  them  and  before  the 
country  —  but  decision  must  be  prompt,  for  there  is  no 
pause  in  the  march  of  events.  However  unwise  the 
policy,  we  cannot  be  surprised  that  the  American  and 
Continental  manufacturer  are  each  applying  to  his  govern¬ 
ment  to  follow  our  example,  and  protect  home  trade  by 
fiscal  regulations. 

This  question  of  trade  with  America  has  also  most 


FREE  TRADE.  1 93 

important  anti-slavery  bearings  —  and  here,  again,  I  find 
my  own  views  anticipated  by  the  able  writer  already 
quoted : 

“  The  present  policy  of  restricting  the  traffic  with 
America  so  closely  to  cotton,  gives  a  deceitful  appearance 
to  the  stated  imports  and  exports.  From  these  statements 
there  should,  in  fairness,  be  deducted  the  value  of  all  the 
raw  cotton  which  is  returned  to  America  ;  and,  in  fact, 
if  the  true  exchange  trade  would  be  seen,  all  should  be 
deducted  that  is  exported  from  England.  That  portion 
of  cotton  goods  which  is  of  English  origin,  that  is,  their 
value  above  the  raw  material  out  of  which  they  were 
made,  is,  in  fact,  the  only  real  part  of  English  export. 
Before  exclusive  importance  was  bestowed  on  cotton,  the 
exchange  with  America  was  in  a  large  proportion  of  arti¬ 
cles  not  to  be  returned.  It  would  be  so  again  if  trade 
were  free.” 

Again  : 

“  To  one  effect  which  would  be  produced  in  America 
by  the  repeal  of  the  corn  and  provision  laws,  no  party  or 
class  in  England  can  profess  indifference,  and  that  is,  its 
effect  on  slavery  in  the  United  States.  At  the  present 
time,  England  gives  a  premium  to  American  slavery  by 
admitting,  at  low  duties,  the  cotton  of  the  slave-holder, 
which  is  his  staple  production,  and  refusing  corn,  which 
is  mostly  the  produce  of  free  labor.  The  slave-holding 
States,  to  the  productions  of  which  Great  Britain  confines 
her  American  trade,  are  less  populous  and  less  wealthy  than 
the  free  ;  yet  of  their  produce  England  received  in  1839,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  American  estimates,  £11,600,000,  while  of 
that  of  the  free  States  she  received  less  than  £500,000.” 

“  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  labor  of  the  slave 

17 


194 


FREE  TRADE. 


States,  is  almost  wholly  expended  in  agriculture,  under 
the  stimulus  of  a  good  market,  while  a  large  part  of  that 
of  the  free  States  is  otherwise  employed,  for  the  want  of 
such  market.  The  effective  laborers  of  the  free  States 
are  double  the  number  of  those  in  the  slave  States ;  and 
were  an  opportunity  given  them,  they  would  export  in 
as  great  a  proportion.  Thus  England,  by  her  laws,  fos¬ 
ters  an  odious  institution  abroad,  which,  in  words,  she  loudly 
condemns,  and  spends  millions  to  rid  the  world  of;  whilst 
she  rejects  more  honorable,  profitable,  and  wealthy  cus¬ 
tomers,  the  fruits  of  whose  free  and  active  industry  are 
in  effect  made  contraband  in  England  by  law. 

“  Not  only  would  England  escape  this  inconsistency 
and  reproach,  by  repealing  the  corn  law,  but  she  would 
strike  a  most  effectual  blow  at  the  existence  of  slavery  in 
the  United  States.  Cotton,  at  present,  from  being  made 
by  the  corn  law  the  principal  exchangeable  article  in  the 
American  trade,  assumes  an  undue  and  unnatural  import¬ 
ance  in  American  commerce,  legislation,  and  home  indus¬ 
try.  The  slave-owner  drives  his  slaves  in  its  production, 
and  purchases  supplies  of  the  northern  freeman,  whose 
interests  are  thus  identified  with  those  of  the  cotton 
grower,  and  the  slave-holding  interest  becomes  predominant 
in  the  country.  From  their  habits,  the  people  of  the 
slave-holding  States  are  constantly  contracting  more  debts 
in  the  free  States  than  they  have  the  means  of  paying  ;  so 
that,  under  the  present  system  of  intercourse,  the  slave¬ 
holders  exercise  over  the  free  population  of  the  north,  the 
same  control  which  an  insolvent  debtor  frequently  has  over 
his  creditor,  by  threatening  to  break  and  ruin  him,  if  not 
allowed  his  own  w?ay.  A  repeal  of  the  corn  laws  would 
release  the  free  States  from  their  present  commercial  and 
consequent  political  vassalage  to  the  southern  slave-holders, 


FREE  TRADE. 


195 


and  thereby  take  from  American  slavery,  the  great  citadel 
of  its  strength,  and  insure  its  overthrow  by  the  influences 
which  would  arise  to  assail  it  from  all  quarters. 

“  But  as  free  trade,  in  destroying  the  odious  monopoly 
of  the  haughty  slave-holder,  would  benefit  and  not  injure 
him,  so  would  its  effects  be  found  universally.  It  would 
give  peace  and  plenty  to  England  and  the  world,  —  it 
would  enlarge  and  secure  trade,  bind  the  spreading 
branches  of  the  Anglo-saxon  race  by  natural  affinity  to 
England  as  their  acknowledged  head,  and  promote  the 
liberty  and  civilization  of  the  human  family  at  large.” 

In  view  of  the  whole  spirit,  of  this  discussion  of  one  of 
the  most  important  questions  bearing  upon  human  inter¬ 
ests,  I  would  simply  add,  that  a  wise  Providence  has 
bound  the  duty  and  the  interest,  both  of  individual  and 
social  man,  firmly  together,  but  for  the  trial  of  his  virtue 
the  hands  are  concealed. 

On  the  31st,  I  took  my  luggage  on  board  the  steam 
packet  “  Caledonia,”  for  Liverpool,  via  Halifax,  which 
was  to  sail  the  day  following,  although  it  was  the  first 
day  of  the  week.  The  proprietors  of  the  packets  are 
bound  in  a  heavy  fine  to  sail  on  the  appointed  days, 
whether  those  fall  on  thefirstday  of  the  week  or  not.  By 
this  arrangement  the  religious  feelings  of  the  people  of 
Boston  are  offended,  which  is  the  more  inexcusable,  on 
the  part  of  the  British  Government,  as  it  does  not  suffer 
its  own  mails  to  depart,  either  from  London  or  Halifax, 
on  that  day.  Some  gentlemen,  who  were  interested  in 
the  subject,  placed  in  my  hands  a  memorial  addressed  to 
the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  in  Great  Britain,  praying  for 
such  an  alteration  of  the  arrangements  as  would  prevent 
this  periodical  violation  of  the  first  day  of  the  week.  A 


196 


FREE  TRADE. 


gentleman,  who  was  active  in  getting  it  signed,  assured 
me  it  was  received  with  universal  favor.  The  signatures, 
obtained  on  very  short  notice,  are  those  of  the  most  influ¬ 
ential  men  in  their  respective  stations  in  the  city  of  Boston, 
and  include  the  names  of  the  mayor  of  the  city,  an  ex- 
lieutenant  governor  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  one 
bishop,  upwards  of  forty  ministers  of  religion,  of  different 
denominations,  nine  gentleman,  upwards  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  merchants,  seventeen  presidents  of  insurance 
companies,  the  post-master  of  Boston,  five  physicians, 
seven  members  of  the  legal  profession,  and  two  editors  of 
newspapers.  After  my  arrival  in  this  country,  l  presented 
this  document,  through  the  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty, 
to  the  authorities  to  whom  it  is  addressed,  but  regret  to 
state  that  the  request  was  not  complied  with.  The 
memorial,  and  the  reply  of  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty 
are  given  in  the  Appendix.* 

On  leaving  the  shores  of  the  United  States,  I  left  the 
following  letter  for  publication  : — 

“  To  the  Friends  of  Immediate  Emancipation  in  the 

United  States. 

“  Having  visited  your  country  as  an  humble  fellow- 
laborer  in  the  great  cause  in  which  you  are  engaged,  and 
which,  through  trials  and  difficulties  a  stranger  can 
scarcely  appreciate,  you  have  so  zealously  maintained, 
I  have  had  a  pleasing  and  satisfactory  interview  with 
many  of  you,  with  reference  to  future  exertions,  in  co¬ 
operation  with  those  of  other  lands,  who  unite  with  you  in 
regarding  slave-holding  and  slave-trading  as  a  heinous  sin 


*  See  Appendix  L. 


IMMEDIATE  EMANCIPATION. 


197 


in  the  sight  of  God,  which  should  be  immediately  abolished. 
It  is  the  especial  privilege  of  those  who  are  laboring  in 
such  a  cause,  to  feel  that  c  every  country  is  their  country, 
and  every  man  their  brother,’  and  to  live  above  the  atmos¬ 
phere  of  sectional  jealousy  and  national  hostility  ;  and 
hence  I  feel  an  assurance,  that  you  will  receive  with 
kindness  a  few  lines  from  me  on  the  eve  of  my  departure 
to  my  native  land. 

“  You  concur  generally  in  opinion,  that  in  endeavoring 
to  obtain  the  great  object  we  have  in  view,  it  is  very  im¬ 
portant  that  the  friends  of  the  cause  should  be  united,  not 
only  in  principle,  but,  as  far  as  may  be,  in  the  character  of 
the  measures  which  they  pursue  ;  and  I  have  been  much 
encouraged  in  finding  that  you  have  generally  adopted  the 
sentiment  so  rapidly  spreading  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic, — -c  That  there  is  no  reasonable  hope  of  abolishing 
the  slave-trade,  but,  by  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  that 
no  measures  should  be  pursued  for  its  attainment,  but  those 
which  are  of  a  moral,  religious,  and  pacific  character.’ 
The  progress  of  emancipation  in  Europe  has  been,  beyond 
a  doubt,  greatly  retarded  by  leaving  slavery  and  the  slave¬ 
holder  unmarked  by  public  reprobation,  and  concentrating 
all  the  energies  of  philanthropy  upon  a  fruitless  effort  to 
abolish  the  slave-trade.  And  in  this  country  the  Colo¬ 
nization^  scheme,  with  its  delusive  promise  of  good  to 
Africa,  and  its  vague  anticipations  of  putting  an  end  to  the 
slave-trade  by  armed  colonies  on  the  coast  of  that  ill-fated 
continent,  has  been  the  means  of  obstructing  emancipation 
at  home,  of  un profitably  absorbing  the  energies  and 
blinding  the  judgment  of  many  sincere  friends  of  the  slave, 
and  of  strengthening  the  unchristian  prejudice  against 
color.  The  abolitionists  of  Europe,  with  few  exceptions, 

17* 


198 


LETTER  TO  THE  FRIENDS  OF 


have  seen  the  error  of  their  former  course  of  action,  and 
are  now  striking  directly  at  the  root,  instead  of  lopping 
the  branches  of  slavery  ;  and  if  further  evidence  of  the 
evil  tendency  and  character  of  colonization  is  needed  in 
the  United  States,  the  recent  proceeding  of  a  meeting  of 
the  Maryland  Society  at  Baltimore,  must  convince  all  who 
are  friendly  to  the  true  interests  of  the  people  of  color,  that 
it  is  a  scheme  deserving  only  the  support  of  the  enemies 
of  freedom.* 

“  The  rapid  progress  of  public  opinion,  as  to  the 
iniquity  of  slavery,  and  the  entire  safety,  as  well  as  advan¬ 
tage,  of  its  immediate  abolition — the  attention  which  has 
been  awakened  to  it  in  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world  — 
the  movements  in  France,  Spain,  Brazil,  and  Denmark, 
and  other  countries  with  slave-holding  dependencies,  all 
indicating  that  the  days  of  slavery  are  numbered,  should 
serve  to  encourage  and  stimulate  us  to  increased  exertions  ; 
and  while  it  is  a  cause  of  profound  regret,  that  any  thing 
should  have  disturbed  the  harmony  and  unity  of  the  real 

“*  The  following  resolution  was  passed  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Maryland  Society  above  alluded  to  : — ‘  That  while  it  is  most 
earnestly  hoped  that  the  free  colored  people  of  Maryland  may  see 
that  their  best  and  most  permanent  interests  will  be  consulted  by 
their  emigration  from  this  State  ;  and  while  this  Convention  would 
deprecate  any  departure  from  the  principle  which  makes  colonization 
dependent  upon  the  voluntary  action  of  the  free  colored  people 
themselves — yet,  if,  regardless  of  what  has  been  done  to  provide 
them  with  an  asylum,  they  continue  to  persist  in  remaining  in 
Maryland,  in  the  hope  of  enjoying  here  an  equality  of  social  and 
political  rights,  they  ought  to  be  solemnly  warned,  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  this  Convention,  a  day  must  arrive  when  circumstances 
that  cannot  be  controlled,  and  which  are  now  maturing,  will 
deprive  them  of  choice,  and  leave  them  no  alternative  but 
removal.’  ” 


IMMEDIATE  ABOLITION. 


199 


friends  of  emancipation  in  this  country  —  the  hardest  battle 
field  of  our  moral  warfare  —  1  am  not  without  hope,  that, 
in  future,  those  who,  —  from  a  conscientious  difference  of 
opinion,  not  as  to  the  object,  but  the  precise  mode  of  ob¬ 
taining  it,  —  cannot  act  in  one  united  band,  will  laudably 
emulate  each  other  in  the  promotion  of  our  common 
cause,  and  in  Christian  forbearance  upon  points  of  disa¬ 
greement  ;  and  that,  where  they  cannot  praise,  they  will 
be  careful  not  to  censure  those,  who,  by  a  different  road, 
are  earnestly  pursuing  the  same  end.  Without  entering 
into  the  controversies  which  have  divided  our  friends  on 
this  side  the  water,  I  believe  it  would  be  nothing  more 
than  a  simple  act  of  justice  for  me  to  state,  on  my  return 
to  Europe,  my  conviction  that  a  large  portion  of  the  abo¬ 
litionists  of  the  United  States,  who  approve  of  the  pro¬ 
ceedings  of  the  late  General  Anti-Slavery  Convention, 
and  are  desirous  of  acting  in  unity  with  the  British  and 
Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  from  the  general  identity  of 
their  practice,  as  well  as  principles,  with  those  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Society,  are  entitled  to  the  sympa¬ 
thies,  and  deserving  of  the  confidence  and  co-operation  of 
the  abolitionists  of  Great  Britain.  It  has  been  my  pleasure 
to  meet,  in  a  kindly  interchange  of  opinion,  many  valuable 
and  devoted  friends  of  emancipation  ;  who,  while  dissent¬ 
ing  from  the  class  above-mentioned  in  some  respects,  are 
nevertheless  disposed  to  cultivate  feelings  of  charity  and 
good  will  towards  all  who  are  sincerely  laboring  for  the 
slaves.  And  in  this  connection  I  may  state,  that  neither 
on  behalf  of  myself,  or  of  my  esteemed  coadjutors  in  Great 
Britain,  am  I  disposed  to  recriminate  upon  another  class 
of  abolitionists,  who,  on  some  points,  have  so  far  differed 
from  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Committee, 


200 


LETTER  TO  THE  FRIENDS  OF 


and  the  great  majority  of  the  Convention  abovementioned, 
as  to  sustain  their  representatives  in  refusing  to  act  with 
that  Convention,  and  in  protesting  against  its  proceedings  ; 
and  who  have  seen  fit  to  censure  the  committee  in  their 
public  meetings  and  newspapers  in  this  country,  as  c  arbi¬ 
trary  and  despotic,’  and  their  conduct  as  e  unworthy  of 
men  claiming  the  character  of  abolitionists.’ 

“  As  a  corresponding  member  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Committee,  and  intimately  ac¬ 
quainted  with  its  proceedings,  I  am  persuaded  that  its 
members  have  acted  wisely,  and  consulted  the  best 
interest  of  the  cause  in  which  they  were  engaged,  in 
generally  leaving  unnoticed  any  censures  that  have  been 
cast  upon  them  while  in  the  prosecution  of  their  labors. 
Yet,  before  leaving  this  country,  I  deem  it  right  to  bear 
my  testimony  to  the  great  anxiety  of  that  committee 
faithfully  to  discharge  the  duties  committed  to  their  trust ; 
and  to  state  that  it  has  never  been  my  privilege  to  be 
united  to  any  body  more  desirous  of  keeping  simply  to  the 
one  great  object  of  their  association  —  the  total  and  imme¬ 
diate  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade.  I  am  per¬ 
suaded  that  all  candid  minds,  making  due  allowance  for 
the  imperfection  pertaining  to  human  associations,  will  feel 
their  confidence  in  the  future  integrity  of  that  committee 
increased  in  proportion  as  they  closely  investigate  their 
past  acts  ;  and  that,  even  when  the  wisdom  of  their  course 
may  have  been  questioned,  they  will  accord  to  them  a 
scrupulous  honesty  of  purpose. 

“  The  first  public  suggestion  of  a  General  Anti-Sla¬ 
very  Convention,  like  the  one  held  last  year  in  London, 
originated,  I  believe,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  although 
the  Committee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery 


IMMEDIATE  EMANCIPATION. 


201 


Society  took  upon  themselves  the  heavy  responsibility  of 
convening  it.  At  its  close,  they  invited  an  expression  of 
the  opinion  of  the  delegates,  as  to  the  desirableness  of 
again  summoning  such  an  assembly.  The  expression  was 
generally  in  the  affirmative  ;  and,  after  discussion,  a  reso¬ 
lution  was  passed,  leaving  it  to  the  Committee  of  the  Brit¬ 
ish  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  after  consulting 
with  the  friends  of  the  cause  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
to  decide  this  important  question,  as  well  as  the  time  and 
place  of  its  meeting,  should  another  Convention  be 
resolved  upon. 

“  Since  I  have  been  in  the  United  States,  I  have 
found  those  abolitionists  who  approved  the  principles  and 
proceedings  of  the  late  Convention  so  generally  in  favor 
of  another,  and  of  London  as  its  place  of  meeting,  that  the 
only  question  seemed  to  be  whether  it  should  be  held  in 
1842  or  1843.  This  expression  of  opinion  is,  I  know, 
so  generally  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Committee,  and  of  many  other 
prominent  abolitionists  in  Europe,  that  I  have  little  doubt 
they  will  feel  encouraged  to  act  upon  it,  probably  at  the 
latter  period.  There  is  abundant  and  increasing  evidence 
of  the  powerfully  beneficial  influence  of  the  late  Conven¬ 
tion  upon  almost  every  part  of  the  world  where  slavery  is 
still  tolerated  ;  and  we  are  encouraged  to  hope  that  the 
one  in  anticipation  will  be  still  more  efficient  for  the 
promotion  of  universal  liberty. 

“  Painful  as  has  been  to  me  the  spectacle  of  many  of 
the  leading  influences  of  the  ecclesiastical  bodies  in  this 
country,  either  placed  in  direct  hostility  to,  or  acting  as  a 
drag  upon,  the  wheel  of  the  anti-slavery  enterprise  —  and 
of  the  manifest  preponderance  of  a  slave-holding  influence 


202 


LETTER  TO  THE  FRIENDS  OF 


in  the  councils  of  the  State  —  I  am  not  one  of  those  who 
despair  of  a  healthful  renovation  of  public  sentiment  which 
shall  purify  Church  as  well  as  State  from  this  abomina¬ 
tion.  There  are  decided  indications  that  all  efforts  of 
councils  and  synods  to  unite  ‘  pure  religion  and  undefiled,’ 
with  a  slave-trading  and  slave-holding  counterfeit  of  Chris- 
tianity,  must  ere  long  utterly  fail.  And  it  is  to  me  a 
matter  of  joy,  as  it  must  be  to  every  friend  of  impartial 
liberty  and  free  institutions,  that  the  citizens  of  this  republic 
are  more  and  more  feeling  that  the  plague-spot  of  slavery, 
as  with  the  increased  facilities  of  communication  its  horrors 
and  deformity  become  more  apparent  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  is  fixing  a  deep  disgrace  upon  the  character  of  their 
country,  and  paralyzing  the  beneficial  influence  which 
might  otherwise  flow  from  it  as  an  example  of  a  well- 
regulated  free  government.  May  each  American  citizen 
who  is  desirous  of  washing  away  this  disgrace,  to  whatever 
division  of  the  anti-slavery  host  he  may  attach  himself, 
ever  bear  in  mind  that  the  cause  is  of  too  tremendous  and 
pressing  a  nature  to  admit  of  his  wasting  his  time  in  cen¬ 
suring  and  impeding  the  progress  of  those  who  may  array 
themselves  under  a  somewhat  different  standard  from  his 
own  ;  and  that  any  energies  thus  wasted,  which  belong  to 
the  one  great  object,  so  far  as  human  instrumentality  is 
concerned,  is  not  only  deferring  the  day  of  freedom  to  two 
and  a  half  millions  of  his  countrymen,  but  inasmuch  as  the 
fall  of  American  slavery  must  be  the  death-blow  to  the 
horrid  system,  wherever  it  exists,  the  result  of  the  struggle 
here  involves  the  slavery  or  freedom  of  millions  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  as  well  as  the  continuance  or  sup¬ 
pression  of  that  slave-trade,  to  the  foreign  branch  of  which 
alone  more  than  one  thousand  victims  are  daily  sacrificed ; 


IMMEDIATE  EMANCIPATION. 


203 


and  in  reference  to  which  it  has  justly  been  said,  ‘  that  all 
that  has  been  borne  to  Africa  of  the  boasted  improvements 
of  civilized  life,  is  a  masterly  skill  in  the  contrivance,  and 
an  unhesitating  daring  in  the  commission  of  crimes,  which 
the  mind  of  the  savage  was  too  simple  to  devise,  and  his 
heart  too  gentle  to  execute.’  There  are  no  doubtful  in¬ 
dications  that  it  is  the  will  of  Him,  who  has  the  hearts  of 
all  at  His  disposal,  that,  either  in  judgment  or  in  mercy, 
this  dreadful  system  shall  ere  long  cease.  It  is  not  for  us 
to  say  why,  in  His  inscrutable  wisdom,  He  has  thus  far 
permitted  one  portion  of  His  creatures  so  cruelly  to  oppress 
another  ;  or  by  what  instrumentality  He  will  at  length 
redress  the  wrongs  of  the  poor,  and  the  oppression  of  the 
needy  ;  but  should  the  worst  fears  of  one  of  your  most 
distinguished  citizens,  who  in  view  of  this  subject,  ac¬ 
knowledged  that  he  ‘  trembled  for  his  country,  when  he 
remembered  that  God  was  just,’  be  finally  realized,  may 
each  one  of  you  feel  that  no  exertions  on  his  part  have 
been  wanting  to  avert  the  Divine  displeasure,  and  preserve 
your  land  from  those  calamities  which,  in  all  ages,  have 
rebuked  the  crimes  of  nations. 

“  Your  sincere  friend, 

“  Joseph  Sturge. 

“  Boston,  Seventh  Month  31st,  1841.” 

My  dear  friend  John  G.  Whittier,  whose  pleasant 
company  and  invaluable  aid  I  had  enjoyed,  as  much  as  his 
health  would  permit,  during  my  stay  in  the  United  States, 
kindly  accompanied  me  on  board.  Had  he  been  less 
closely  identified  with  the  transactions  of  which  the  pres¬ 
ent  volume  is  a  record,  I  should  have  felt  it  due  to  his 
station  among  the  earliest  and  most  distinguished  advocates 


204 


TEXAS. 


of  the  anti-slavery  cause  in  America,  to  attempt  some  de¬ 
lineation,  however  imperfect,  of  that  rare  and  consecrated 
union  of  consistent  Christian  character,  fine  talents,  and 
sound  and  impartial  judgment,  which  give  him  so  much 
weight  in  the  councils  of  his  fellow-laborers.  We  set  sail 
about  noon  on  the  1st  of  the  Eighth  month,  (August,)  and 
arrived  off  Liverpool  about  eleven  o’clock,  P.  M.  on  the 
13th,  which  interval  included  ten  hours  delay  at  Halifax. 
We  had  about  ninety  passengers  from  Halifax  to  Liver¬ 
pool,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  severe  gale  on  the  10th, 
almost  amounting  to  a  hurricane,  we  had  a  very  favorable 
voyage.  The  time  from  Halifax  to  within  sight  of  the 
light  house  off  the  south  coast  of  Ireland  was  announced 
to  be  only  nine  days  and  thirteen  minutes. 

One  of  my  fellow  passengers  had  recently  been  travel¬ 
ing  in  the  southern  States,  and  showed  me  a  letter  given 
to  him  as  a  curiosity  at  the  post  office  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  which  was  addressed  by  a  slave  to  her  husband, 
but  from  insufficient  direction  had  never  reached  its  desti¬ 
nation.  It  was  to  convey  the  tidings  that  she  was  about 
to  be  sold  to  the  South,  and  begging  him,  in  simple  and 
affecting  terms,  to  come  and  see  her,  as  they  would  never 
meet  again.  Another  of  the  passengers,  who  had  also 
been  a  fellow  voyager  with  my  friend  Joseph  John  Gur¬ 
ney,  had  recently  travelled  in  Texas.  He  was  strongly 
impressed  with  the  evils  likely  to  result  from  the  proposed 
recognition  of  that  government  by  Great  Britain.  In  con¬ 
sequence  of  the  promising  aspect  of  these  negotiations 
between  General  Hamilton  and  Lord  Palmerston  in  favor 
of  Texas,  the  paper  money  issued  by  that  piratical  gov¬ 
ernment,  and  which  had  not  been  previously  negotiable 
for  more  than  one  tenth  of  its  nominal  value,  rapidly  rose. 


TEXAS. 


205 


The  Texas  republic,  in  his  opinion,  could  not  secure  a 
permanence  without  British  recognition. 

Many  planters,  with  their  slaves,  have  emigrated  thith¬ 
er  to  escape  their  creditors  from  the  border  States,  and 
the  republic  has  been  lavish  of  grants  of  land  to  men  of 
capital  and  influence,  to  induce  them  to  settle  within  its 
limits.  My  informant  considered  the  state  of  society  to 
be  as  bad  as  it  well  could  be,  and  continue  to  exist.  The 
white  inhabitants  are  living  not  only  in  fear  of  hostile  In¬ 
dians,  but  in  fear  of  each  other. 

From  a  late  letter  of  a  friend  in  America,  I  make  the 
following  extract  relative  to  the  present  condition  of  Texas. 

“  To  give  thee  some  adequate  idea  of  the  importance 
of  that  beautiful  republic  of  Texas,  which  Lord  Palmers¬ 
ton  and  the  late  Whig  government  of  England  took  un¬ 
der  their  especial  protection,  I  will  just  refer  to  the  statis¬ 
tics  of  the  late  election  of  its  President.  The  successful 
candidate,  General  Houston,  a  man  notorious  for  his  open 
contempt  for  all  the  decencies  of  civilized  society, — bru¬ 
tal,  brawling,  profane,  and  licentious, — received  somewhat 
rising  five  thousand  votes  :  his  competitor,  Judge  Burnet, 
between  two  and  three  thousand, — a  vote  smaller  by  thou¬ 
sands  than  that  of  our  little  county  of  Essex,  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts.  Late  accounts  from  Texas  inform  us  that  gangs 
of  organized  desperadoes,  under  the  names  of  modera¬ 
tors  and  regulators,  are  traversing  its  territory,  perpetra¬ 
ting  the  most  brutal  outrages.  In  one  instance  they  seiz¬ 
ed  a  respectable  citizen  who  dared  to  express  his  dissatis¬ 
faction  with  their  proceedings,  hurried  him  into  the  forest, 
and  deliberately  dug  his  grave  before  his  eyes,  intending 
to  bury  him  alive !  The  miserable  victim,  horrified  by 
the  prospect  of  such  a  fate,  broke  away  from  his  tor- 
18 


206 


TEXAS. 


mentors,  and  attempted  to  escape,  but  was  shot  down  and 
instantly  killed  !  Such  a  congregation  as  Texas  presents 
was  never,  I  suspect,  known,  save  in  that  city  into  which 
the  Macedonian  monarch  gathered  and  garnered,  in 
one  scoundrel  community,  the  vagabond  rascality  of  his 
kingdom. 

“  Thou  would’st  be  amused  to  read  an  article,  which  has 
made  its  appearance  in  the  Houston  Telegraph — a  Texi- 
an  paper — in  which  the  editor  says,  ‘  that  while  we  deep¬ 
ly  commiserate  the  situation  of  our  sister  republic,  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  political  scourge  of  abolitionism,  it  is  pleasing 
to  reflect  that  our  country  enjoys  a  complete  immunity 
from  its  effects.  Indeed  we  may  with  safety  declare, 
that  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  our  country,  not  a 
single  abolitionist  can  be  found.’  He  goes  on  to  say  that 
this  induces  many  of  the  southern  planters  to  emigrate  to 
Texas,  who,  he  remarks,  c  will  necessarily  loolc  to  Texas, 
as  the  Hebrews  did  to  the  promised  land,  for  a  refuge 
and  homed  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Texas  is  the  prom¬ 
ised  land  of  the  patriarchal  slave-holders  of  the  southern 
States.  When  hunted  from  every  other  quarter  of  the 
globe  by  the  inexorable  spirit  of  abolition,  when  even 
Cuba  and  Brazil  cease  to  afford  them  an  asylum — when 
slave-holding  shall  be  every  where  else  as  odious  and  de¬ 
testable  as  midnight  larceny,  or  highway  robbery, — Tex¬ 
as  alone,  uninfected  and  secure,  is  to  open  its  gates  of  ref¬ 
uge  to  the  persecuted  Calhouns  and  McDuffies,  and  their 
northern  allies  in  church  and  state — the  San  Marino  of 
slavery,  dissevered  from  the  world’s  fanaticism — isolated 
and  apart,  like  the  floating  air-island  of  Dean  Swift.” 

The  following  extract  from  a  recent  New  York  paper 
gives  an  equally  deplorable  representation  of  the  society 
in  Texas. 


ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY. 


207 


“  The  pestilent  influence  of  the  recent  horrible  mur¬ 
ders  on  the  Arkansas,  and  other  United  States’  rivers,  has 
caused  the  practice  of  lynching  to  break  forth  with  renew¬ 
ed  fury  in  Texas,  where  it  had  apparently  slept  for  the 
previous  year.  And  we  find  recorded  in  the  Texas  pa¬ 
pers  nearly  a  dozen  of  these  murders  that  have  occurred, 
and  undoubtedly  there  have  been  more  than  as  many  more. 
In  Shelby  county  two  citizens  have  been  shot  down,  and 
several  houses  burned  by  a  party  of  outlaws.  In  Red 
River  two  men  have  been  hanged  as  horse-thieves,  with¬ 
out  judge  or  jury.  In  Washington  county  one  man  has 
been  shot  down,  under  the  pretence  that  he  was  a  mur¬ 
derer.  In  Austin  county  two  men  were  killed,  and  two 
hostile  parties  were  in  arms  for  several  days,  taking  the 
law  into  their  own  hands.  In  Jefferson  county  two  men 
have  been  killed,  and  the  house  of  one  of  them  burnt  to 
the  ground  by  a  party  of  self-styled  c  regulators.’  And 
all  ibis  in  the  space  of  a  year.” 

Several  of  my  fellow-passengers  were  from  Cuba,  and 
some  of  them  slave-holders  by  their  own  admission.  With 
one  or  two  of  those  who  could  speak  English,  I  had 
much  conversation  on  the  abolition  of  slavery.  They 
concurred  with  apparent  sincerity  in  the  desire  that  the 
slave  trade  might  be  effectually  suppressed.  They  seem¬ 
ed  to  consider  that  this  trade  was  promoted  by  the  moth¬ 
er  country  as  one  means  of  preventing  the  colony  from 
aspiring  to  independence.  They  admitted  the  abstract 
injustice  of  slavery,  and  one  remarked,  that  a  difference 
of  the  color  of  the  skin  was  a  misfortune,  not  a  crime. 
They  were  not,  however,  disposed  to  entertain  a  thought 
of  emancipation,  without  being  fully  compensated  for 
their  slaves. 


208 


CONCLUSION. 


I  bad  again  the  pleasure  of  observing  on  this  voyage, 
the  benefits  of  the  change  of  system  with  regard  to  the 
supply  of  wines  and  spirits,  each  passenger  paying  for 
what  he  consumes,  instead  of  his  fare  including  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  drinking  ad  libitum.  One  of  the  stewards  told 
me  the  quantity  consumed  was  little  more  than  one-tenth 
as  much  as  under  the  former  system. 

I  cannot  conclude  my  narrative  more  gratefully  to  my 
own  feelings  than  by  a  tribute  to  the  upright  and  conscien¬ 
tious  officer  who  commanded  the  vessel.  On  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  the  only  one  we  spent  at  sea,  the  passengers, 
and  as  many  of  the  servants  as  could  conveniently  attend, 
assembled  morning  and  evening  in  the  saloon,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  religious  worship.  Lord  Frederick  Fitzclarence, 
one  of  the  passengers,  officiating  as  a  minister  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  Establishment ;  and  every  evening  a  similar  opportuni¬ 
ty  was  offered  in  the  fore  cabin  to  all  who  were  inclined 
to  be  present.  The  captain  firmly  resisted  the  introduc¬ 
tion  of  cards  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  in  his 
whole  conduct  manifested  an  anxiety  not  only  for  the  tem¬ 
poral  comfort  and  safety,  but  for  the  spiritual  interests  of 
those  under  his  care.  Would  that  all  captains  of  vessels, 
invested  as  they  are  with  such  authority  and  influence  over 
the  passengers  and  crews,  were  like-minded  with  my  friend 
Captain  McKellar. 

1  disembarked  at  Liverpool  early  in  the  morning  on  the 
14th  of  Eighth  month,  (August,)  1841. 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


The  reader  who  lias  accompanied  me  thus  far,  will 
not  need  to  be  informed  that  I  have  designedly  omitted 
many  of  those  remarks  on  scenery,  manners,  and  institu¬ 
tions,  which  were  naturally  suggested  to  my  own  mind 
by  a  retrospect  of  my  sojourn  in  the  United  States.  On 
various  subjects  of  great  interest  and  importance,  it 
would  be  difficult  for  me  to  add  anything  new  or  valu¬ 
able  to  the  information  contained  in  other  and  well 
known  works ;  while  on  those  points  to  which  my  atten¬ 
tion  was  chiefly  directed,  I  have  endeavored,  as  far  as 
practicable,  to  incorporate  the  results  of  my  inquiries  in 
the  preceding  narrative.  There  remain,  however,  a  few 
observations,  for  which,  having  found  no  appropriate 
place,  I  would  bespeak  attention  in  a  concluding  chapter. 

In  the  Northern  States,  education,  in  the  common  ac¬ 
ceptation  of  the  term,  may  be  considered  as  universal  ;  in 
illlustration  of  which  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  on  the 
occasion  of  the  late  census,  not  a  single  American  adult 
in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  was  returned  as  unable  to 
read  or  write.  Funds  for  education  are  raised  by  munici¬ 
pal  taxation  in  each  town  or  district,  to  such  an  amount 
as  the  male  adults  may  decide.  Their  public  schools  are 
universally  admitted  to  be  well  conducted  and  efficient, 
and  combine  every  requisite  for  affording  a  sound,  practi¬ 
cal,  elementary  education  to  the  children  of  the  less  af¬ 
fluent  portion  of  the  community.  I  need  scarcely  add 
that  in  a  republican  government,  this  important  advan- 
18* 


210 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


tage  being  conceded,  the  road  to  wealth  and  distinction, 
or  to  eminence  of  whatever  kind,  is  thrown  open  to  all  of 
every  class  without  partiality  —  the  colored  alone  ex¬ 
cepted. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  received  since  my 
return  from  a  respected  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  residing  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  will  give 
a  lively  idea  of  the  general  diffusion  and  practical  charac¬ 
ter  of  education  in  the  New  England  States. 

“  The  public  schools  of  the  place,  like  those  through¬ 
out  the  State,  are  supported  by  a  tax,  levied  on  the  peo¬ 
ple  by  themselves,  in  their  primary  assemblies  or  town 
meetings,  and  they  are  of  so  excellent  a  character  as  to 
have  driven  other  schools  almost  entirely  out  from  among 
us.  They  are  so  numerous  as  to  accommodate  amply  all 
the  children,  of  suitable  age  to  attend.  They  are  gradu¬ 
ated  from  the  infant  school,  where  the  A  B  C  is 
taught,  up  to  the  high  school  for  the  languages  and  math¬ 
ematics,  where  boys  are  fitted  for  the  University,  and  ad¬ 
vanced  so  far,  if  they  choose,  as  to  enter  the  University 
one  or  two  years  ahead.  These  schools  are  attended  by 
the  children  of  the  whole  population  promiscuously;  and, 
in  the  same  class  we  find  the  children  of  the  governor 
and  ex-governor  of  the  State,  and  those  of  their  day-la¬ 
borers,  and  of  parents  who  are  so  poor  that  their  chil¬ 
dren  are  provided  with  books  and  stationery  from  the 
school  fund.  Under  this  system,  we  have  no  children 
who  do  not  acquire  sufficient  school  learning  to  qualify 
them  for  transacting  all  the  business  which  is  necessary 
in  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life.  A  child  growing  up  with¬ 
out  school  learning  would  be  an  anomaly  with  us.  All 
standing  thus  on  a  level,  as  to  advantages,  talent  is  de- 


EDUCATION. 


211 


veloped,  wherever  it  happens  to  be ;  and  neither  wealth 
nor  ancestral  honors  give  any  advantage  in  the  even- 
handed  contest  which  may  here  be  waged  for  distinction. 
It  is  thus  that  we  find,  almost  uniformly,  that  our  first 
men,  either  in  government  or  the  professions,  are  the  sons 
of  comparatively  poor  and  obscure  persons.  In  places 
where  the  wealthier  portion  of  the  community  have 
placed  their  children  in  select  schools,  they  are  found 
much  less  likely  to  excel,  than  when  placed  in  contact 
and  collision  with  the  mass,  where  they  are  compelled  to 
come  in  competition  with  those  whose  physical  condition 
prepares  them  for  mental  labor,  and  whose  situation  in 
society  holds  forth  every  inducement  to  their  exertions. 
To  this  system,  which  is  co-eval  with  the  foundation  of 
the  State,  I  attribute,  in  a  great  degree,  that  wonderful 
energy  of  character  which  distinguishes  the  people  of 
New  England,  and  which  has  filled  the  world  with  the 
evidences  of  their  enterprise.” 

The  preceding  statements  refer  to  New  England,  the 
oldest  portion  of  the  free  States.  The  more  recently  set¬ 
tled  Northern  and  Western  States  are  necessarily  less 
advanced,  yet  their  educational  statistics  would  probably 
bear  comparison  with  any  country  in  the  world,  except 
the  most  favored  portion  of  their  own.  In  the  slave 
States  the  aspect  of  things  affords  a  striking  contrast. 
Not  only  is  the  slave  population,  with  but  few  excep¬ 
tions,  in  a  condition  of  heathen  barbarism,  a  condition 
which  it  is  the  express  object  of  those  laws  of  the  slave 
States,  forbidding,  under,  the  heaviest  penalties,  the  in¬ 
struction  of  the  slaves,  to  perpetuate ;  but  the  want  of 
common  elementary  education  among  large  numbers  of 
the  privileged  class  is  notorious.  Compare  Virginia  with 


212 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


Massachusetts,- — •“  The  American  Almanac  for  the  year 
1841,  states,  (page  210)  there  are  supposed  to  be  hardly 
fewer  than  30,000  adult  white  persons  in  Virginia  who 
cannot  read  and  write  !  ”  An  able  writer  gives  the  fol¬ 
lowing  facts. 

“  No  one  of  the  slave  States  has  probably  so  much 
general  education  as  Virginia.  It  is  the  oldest  of  them  — 
has  furnished  one  half  of  the  Presidents  of  the  United 
States — •  has  expended  more  upon  her  University  than 
any  State  in  the  Union  has  done  during  the  same  time 
upon  its  colleges  —  sent  to  Europe  nearly  twenty  years 
since  for  her  most  learned  professors  ;  and  in  fine,  has  far 
surpassed  every  other  slave  State  in  her  efforts  to  dis¬ 
seminate  education  among  her  citizens ;  and  yet,  the 
Governor  of  Virginia  in  his  message  to  the  legislature, 
(Jan.  7,  1839)  says,  that  of  four  thousand  six  hundred 
and  fourteen  adult  males  in  that  State,  who  applied  to 
the  county  clerks  for  marriage  licences  in  the  year  1837, 
one  thousand  and  forty  seven  were  unable  to  write  their 
names.”  The  governor  adds,  “  these  statements,  it  will 
be  remembered  are  confined  to  one  sex :  the  education 
of  females,  it  is  to  be  feared,  is  in  a  condition  of  much 
greater  neglect .” —  The  editor  of  the  Virginia  Times 
published  at  Wheeling,  in  his  paper  of  January  23d, 
1839,  says,  —  “We  have  every  reason  to  suppose  that 
one  fourth  of  the  people  of  the  State  cannot  write  their 
names,  and  they  have  not  of  course  any  other  species  of 
education.”  * 

The  destitution  of  the  means  of  moral  and  religious 
improvement  is  in  like  manner  very  great.  A  recent 
number  of  the  “  Monthly  Extracts  from  the  correspon- 

*  “  American  Slavery  as  it  is,”  page  187. 


RELIGION  AND  MORALITY. 


213 


dence  of  the  American  Bible  Society,”  contains  the  fol¬ 
lowing  extract  from  the  28th  annual  report  of  the  Vir¬ 
ginia  Bible  Society:  £,'The  sub-sheriff  of  one  of  our 
Western  Counties  stated  the  following  fact  to  your  agent. 
A  jury  was  to  be  empannelled  in  a  remote  settlement  of 
this  country  —  he  happened  to  have  left  his  home  with¬ 
out  a  Bible  —  there  was  no  Bible  in  the  house  where  the 
jury  was  to  sit,  and  the  sheriff  travelled  fourteen  miles 
calling  at  every  house,  before  he  found  a  Bible.  Pious 
surveyors  stated  to  your  agent  that  they  had  traversed 
every  settlement  in  a  remote  section  of  one  or  two  of  our 
south  western  counties,  that  they  had  frequently  inquired 
among  the  settlers  for  a  Bible,  but  had  never  seen  or 
heard  of  one  in  a  region,  say  sixty  miles  by  fifty.” 

There  are  few  things  more  striking  in  the  free  States 
than  the  number  and.  commodiousness  of  the  places  of 
worship.  In  the  New  England  States,  however  general 
the  attendance  might  be,  none  would  be  excluded  for 
want  of  room.  The  other  means  or  accompaniments  of 
religious  instruction  are  in  the  same  abundance.  How  is 
it  possible  to  evade  the  conclusion  that  Christianity  flour¬ 
ishes  most,  when  it  is  unencumbered  and  uncorrupted  by 
state  patronage?  What  favored  portion  of  the  United 
Kingdom  could  compare  its  religious  statistics  with  New 
England? 

Religion  and  morality,  viewed  on  the  broad  scale,  are 
cause  and  effect  —  a  remark  which  is  fully  borne  out  in 
the  Northern  States,  and  in  no  instance  more  remarkably 
exemplified  than  in  the  spread  of  temperance.  A  few 
years  ago  the  consumption  of  ardent  spirits,  and  other  in¬ 
toxicating  drinks,  was  as  general  as  in  England,  and  the 
effects  even  more  conspicuous  and  debasing.  It  is  now 


214 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


very  rare,  in  the  free  States,  to  see  a  drunken  person,  even 
in  the  most  populous  cities.  At  the  large  hotels,  as  far  as 
my  observation  extended,  it  is  the  exception,  not  the  rule, 
to  take  any  spirituous  or  fermented  beverage  at  or  after 
dinner ;  and  no  case  of  inebriety  came  under  my  notice  in 
any  of  these  establishments.  I  have  already  remarked, 
that  some  of  the  first  hotels  in  the  principal  cities  are  es¬ 
tablished  on  the  strictest  temperance  principles.  I  be¬ 
lieve,  in  private  hospitality,  intoxicating  drinks  are,  in  like 
manner,  very  much  discarded.  At  the  tables  of  members 
of  the  Society  of  Friends,  it  is  very  rare  to  see  either 
wine  or  malt  liquor  introduced  ;  while,  as  already  noticed, 
the  selling,  using,  or  giving  ardent  spirits  is  so  great  an 
offence  as  to  be  made  the  subject  of  church  discipline. 
This  is,  by  no  means,  one  of  the  “  peculiarities  ”  of 
“  Friends,”  as  I  believe  it  may  be  generally  stated  that 
the  same  practices,  in  most  other  Christian  communities, 
would  be  considered  as  quite  incompatible  with  a  profes¬ 
sion  of  religion. 

The  effects  of  this  great  reformation  are  not  confined  to 
the  United  States,  although  the  change  hitherto  has  been 
much  more  gradual  in  my  native  country ;  not  so,  how¬ 
ever,  in  Ireland,  now,  by  a  happy  reverse,  a  scene  of  light 
and  promise,  amidst  surrounding  gloom  and  depression. 
Of  the  American  facts  I  have  to  record,  connected  with 
the  temperance  movement,  the  most  grateful  is  the  strik¬ 
ing  contrast  that  is  exhibited  in  the  Irish  emigrants. 
By  the  divine  blessing  on  Theobald  Mathew’s  benevolent 
labors,  they  have  generally  forsaken  their  besetting  sin  of 
drunkenness  in  their  native  land,  and  if  compelled  to  seek 
the  means  of  subsistence  in  another  country,  they  now  at 
least  do  not  carry  with  them  habits  that  tend  irresistibly  to 


RELIGION  AND  MORALITY. 


215 


destitution  and  degradation.  The  Irish  movement  is  like¬ 
wise  re-acting  most  beneficially  on  the  native  Irish,  who 
have  long  been  settled  in  America,  and  who  are  joining 
the  total  abstinence  societies  in  great  number,  though 
hitherto  the  most  intemperate  part  of  the  community. 

In  short,  whether  I  consider  the  religious,  the  benevo¬ 
lent,  or  the  literary  institutions  of  the  Northern  States  — 
whether  I  contemplate  the  beauty  of  their  cities,  or  the 
general  aspect  of  their  fine  country,  in  which  nature  every 
where  is  seen  rendering  her  rich  and  free  tribute  to  indus¬ 
try  and  skill  —  or  whether  I  regard  the  general  comfort 
and  prosperity  of  the  laboring  population,  —  my  admira¬ 
tion  is  strongly  excited,  and,  to  do  justice  to  my  feelings, 
must  be  strongly  expressed.  Probably  there  is  no  coun¬ 
try  where  the  means  of  temporal  happiness  are  so  general¬ 
ly  diffused,  notwithstanding  the  constant  flow  of  emigrants 
from  the  old  world ;  and,  I  believe  there  is  no  country 
where  the  means  of  religious  and  moral  improvement  are 
so  abundantly  provided  —  where  facilities  of  education 
are  more  within  the  reach  of  all  — or  where  there  is  less 
of  extreme  poverty  and  destitution. 

As  morals  have  an  intimate  connection  with  politics,  I 
do  not  think  it  out  of  place  here  to  record  my  conviction, 
that  the  great  principle  of  popular  control,  which  is  carried 
out  almost  to  its  full  extent  in  the  free  states,  is  not  only 
beautiful  in  theory,  but  that  it  is  found  to  work  well  in 
practice.  It  is  true  that  disgraceful  scenes  of  mob  violence 
and  lynch-law  have  occurred  ;  but  perhaps  not  more  fre¬ 
quently  than  popular  outbreaks  in  Great  Britain  ;  while, 
generally,  the  supremacy  of  law  and  order  have  been  re¬ 
stored,  without  troops,  or  special  commissions,  or  capital 
punishments.  It  is  also  true,  that  these  occurrences  are, 


216 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


for  the  most  part,  directly  traceable,  not  to  the  celebrated 
declaration  of  the  equal  and  inalienable  right  of  all  men  to 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  which  is  the  funda¬ 
mental  principle  of  the  constitution  ;  but  to  the  flagrant  vio¬ 
lation  of  that  principle  in  the  persons  of  the  colored  popula¬ 
tion,  of  whom  those  in  most  of  the  free  states  are  actually  or 
virtually  deprived  of  political  rights  ;  and  the  rest,  consti¬ 
tuting  a  majority  of  the  population  in  some  of  the  South¬ 
ern  States,  are  held  in  abject  slavery.  The  corruptions 
and  disorders  that  obscure  the  bright  example  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  people,  and  detract  from  the  estimation  in  Which  their 
institutions  and  policy  would  otherwise  be  held,  generally 
spring  from  this  source.  So  long  as  slavery  and  distinction 
of  color  exist,  America  will  always  be  pointed  at  with  the 
finger  of  scorn,  for  her  flagrant  violation  of  all  truth  and 
consistency.  But  let  us  not  forget  that  this  odious  institu¬ 
tion  is  the  disgraceful  legacy  of  a  monarchy  —  that  it  is  no 
necessary  effect  of  republican  institutions,  but  the  reverse. 
Our  quarrel,  therefore,  is  not  with  the  declaration  of  rights, 
but  that  this  celebrated  declaration  should  be  regarded, 
in  the  instance  of  one  class  in  the  community,  as  a  mere 
rhetorical  flourish,  and  should  thus  be  deprived  of  its  legiti¬ 
mate  practical  effect. 

The  great  feature  of  the  political  arrangements  of  the 
free  States  is,  the  absence  of  the  aristocratic  element.  A 
pure  despotism  in  the  hands  of  one  man  has  seldom  been 
seen,  except  in  the  instances  of  those  renowned  military 
chiefs,  whom  a  retributive  Providence  has  at  intervals  em¬ 
ployed  as  the  scourge  of  guilty  nations.  An  aristocracy 
under  various  forms  and  names,  has  usually  been  the  gov¬ 
erning  power,  and  as  the  too  frequent  result,  laws  have 
been  made  and  administered  for  the  benefit  of  the  few, 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


217 


and  not  for  the  many.  Yet  the  United  States  of  North 
America  exhibit,  however,  notwithstanding  their  political 
theory  to  the  contrary,  an  aristocracy  of  the  worst  kind, 
an  aristocracy  of  color;  in  the  free  States  of  the  ma¬ 
ny  against  the  few,  in  affirming  these  to  be  a  degraded 
race,  as  long  as  African  blood  rims  in  their  veins  ;  and  in 
the  slave  States,  for  a  no  better  reason,  reducing  them  even 
when  they  are  the  majority,  to  the  condition  of  brute  beasts, 
to  be  held  and  sold  as  goods  and  chattels.  And  this  leads 
me  to  observe  that  the  writer  who  mistakes  the  general 
government  of  the  confederacy,  with  its  limited  scope  and 
powers,  for  the  chief  source  of  laws  and  administration  in 
the  separate  States  will  unavoidably  present  a  confused 
and  distorted  representation  of  existing  facts.  Each  State 
constitutes  within  itself  a  distinct  republic,  virtually  inde¬ 
pendent  of  the  general  government,  so  long  as  its  legisla¬ 
tion  does  not  conflict  with  the  speciflc  articles  of  the  con¬ 
stitutional  compact ;  all  the  rights  and  powers  of  sovereign¬ 
ty,  not  specifically  delegated  to  the  Government  in  that 
instrument,  being  retained  by  the  States.  Hence  nothing 
can  present  a  wider  contrast  than  the  slavery-blackened 
code  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  statutes  of  Massachu¬ 
setts,  characterized  by  republican  simplicity  and  equality. 

The  preceding  observations  in  favor  of  the  democratic 
institutions  of  the  northern  States,  are  therefore  to  be  un¬ 
derstood  as  of  local  application  ;  and  I  would  explicitly 
admit  that  a  well-ordered  and  a  well-working  government 
on  such  principles  must  in  a  great  measure  depend  upon 
the  amount  of  virtue  and  intelligence  in  the  community : 
but  while  a  government  which  is  based  upon  the  princi¬ 
ples  of  impartial  justice  requires  a  virtuous  people  properly 
to  administer  it,  it  has,  I  believe,  within  itself  one  of  the 

19 


218 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


most  powerful  elements  for  the  formation  of  such  a  com¬ 
munity. 

On  the  subject  of  peace  my  inquiries  elicited  an  almost 
uniformly  favorable  response.  If  we  except  those  who 
would  encourage  the  war  spirit,  from  hopes  of  shar¬ 
ing  in  the  plunder,  or  those  to  whom  it  would  open  up 
the  path  to  distinction  and  emolument,  there  are  compar¬ 
atively  few  who  do  not  desire  the  maintenance  of  peace. 
In  the  religious  part  of  the  community,  there  is  a  rapidly 
spreading  conviction  of  the  unchristian  character  of  war, 
in  every  shape  ;  and  the  President,  in  his  late  message  to 
Congress,  in  stating  that  “  the  time  ought  to  be  regarded 
as  having  gone  by  when  a  resort  to  arms  is  to  be  esteem¬ 
ed  as  the  only  proper  arbiter  of  national  differences,  has 
expressed  the  sentiments  -of  the  great  bulk  of  the  intelli¬ 
gent  citizens  of  the  United  States.  I  believe  also  that 
the  majority  would  be  found  willing  to  assent  to  any  rea¬ 
sonable  and  practical  measure  that  should  preclude  the 
probability  of  an  appeal  to  arms,  or  of  keeping  up  what 
are  absurdly  called  “  peace  establishments  ”  of  standing 
armies  and  appointed  fleets  for  the  protection  of  national 
safety  or  honor.  The  late  excitements  on  the  Boundary 
and  McLeod  questions  were  confined  to  comparatively 
few  of  the  population,  and  the  report  of  them  was  magni¬ 
fied  by  distance. 

But  a  far  stronger  guaranty  for  the  permanence  of  in¬ 
ternational  peace  than  any  treaties,  will  be  found  in  the 
interchange  of  mutual  benefits  by  commerce.  For  this 
reason  he  who  is  successful  in  promoting  a  free  and  un¬ 
checked  commerce,  is  the  benefactor,  not  of  his  own  coun¬ 
try  alone,  but  of  the  world  at  large.  There  are  few 
countries  where  in  practice  free  trade  is  more  fully  carried 


COMMERCE  AND  MANUFACTURES. 


219 


out  than  in  the  United  States,  but  in  theory  the  true  doc¬ 
trine  of  this  subject  is  only  in  part  adopted  by  her  states¬ 
men  and  leading  minds.  They  are  willing  to  trade  on 
equal  terms,  but  will  meet  prohibition  with  prohibition. 
Here  undoubtedly  they  mistake  their  real  interests,  but 
though  such  a  policy  will  not  advance  the  prosperity  of 
America,  it  will  inflict  tremendous  and  lasting  injury  on 
Great  Britain.  Whatever  the  evenfywe  cannot  complain. 
The  terms  offered  by  the  United  States,  though  not  wise,  on 
an  enlarged  view  of  her  own  interests,  are  yet  reciprocal , 
and  therefore  fair  between  nation  and  nation.  If,  however, 
1  possessed  any  influence  with  the  enlightened  citizens  of 
North  America,  1  should  be  in  no  common  degree  anxious 
to  exert  it  against  those  false  views  of  trade  and  commerce 
which  distort  alike  the  maxims  and  the  policy  of  her  rul¬ 
ers.  Their  manufactures  flourish,  not  in  consequence  of 
protection ,  but  in  defiance  of  it.  With  such  an  extended 
coast,  and  such  facilities  of  internal  communication,  prohi¬ 
bition  is  impossible.  The  manufactures  of  England  are 
excluded,  not  by  the  revenue  laws  of  the  States,  but  by 
the  corn  laws  of  Great  Britain,  which  forbid  the  British 
manufacturer  to  take  in  exchange  the  only  article  of  value 
his  American  customer  has  to  spare  ;  a  prohibition  which, 
unhappily  for  the  people  of  this  country,  our  govern¬ 
ment  has  power  to  enforce.  The  prohibitory  system 
is,  to  a  great  extent,  impracticable  in  the  United  States ; 
and  just  so  far  as  it  should  be  found  practicable,  it  would 
prove  injurious,  by  creating  fictitious  and  dependent  inter¬ 
ests,  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  would  become  insupport- 
ably  burdensome  to  the  commonwealth,  and  eventually 
would  have  to  be  relinquished  at  the  cost  of  a  fearful 
amount  of  individual  distress  and  national  suffering.  Le- 


220 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


gitimate  commerce  is  that  department  of  the  national  wel¬ 
fare,  in  which  it  is  the  business  of  statesmanship  to  do 
nothing  but  remove  the  impediments  of  its  own  creating 
in  past  times.  In  all  other  respects,  commercial  legisla¬ 
tion  is  a  nuisance  ;  and  if  under  some  circumstances  trade 
is  found  to  flourish  concurrently  with  such  interference,  the 
fact  is  due  either  to  the  restrictions  and  regulations  being 
practically  inoperative,  or  more  frequently,  to  the  high 
profits  arising  from  unexhausted  resources,  in  the  absence 
of  competition,  enabling  commerce  to  advance  in  spite  of 
impediments  ;  in  the  same  way  as  cultivation  by  slave 
labor,  notwithstanding  its  expensiveness  and  inordinate 
waste,  enables  the  first  planter  on  a  virgin  soil,  and  with 
an  open  market  for  his  produce,  to  roll  in  his  carriage, 
though  beggary  is  to  be  the  fate  of  the  second  or  third 
generation  of  his  descendants. 

In  giving  the  preceding  representation  of  the  religious, 
the  moral,  and  the  intellectual  elevation  of  the  population 
of  the  Northern  States  of  the  Union,  I  have  indicated  the 
source  we  must  look  to  for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  to 
which  it  is  now  time  to  turn  our  attention,  for  no  American 
question  can  be  discussed,  into  which  this  important  subject 
does  not  largely  enter. 

Light  and  darkness,  truth  and  falsehood,  are  not  more 
in  opposition  than  Christianity  and  slavery.  If  the  religion 
that  is  professed  in  the  free  States  be  not  wholly  a  dead 
letter,  —  if  the  moral  and  intellectual  light  which  they 
appear  to  enjoy  be  indeed  light,  and  not  darkness,  —  then 
the  abolition  of  slavery  is  certain,  and  cannot  be  long- 
delayed.  In  order  to  make  this  apparent,  as  well  as  to 
vindicate  my  own  proceedings  in  the  United  States,  it  is 
incumbent  on  me  to  show,  that  the  great  contest,  for  the 


ANTI-SLAVERY  RESOURCES.  221 

abolition  of  American  slavery,  is  to  be  decided  in  the  free 
States,  by  the  power  of  public  opinion.  I  have  distinctly 
admitted,  that  the  confederated  republics  have  each  their 
independent  sovereignty.  Neither  the  free  States,  nor  the 
general  Government,  can  perhaps  constitutionally  abolish 
slavery  in  any  one  of  the  existing  slave  States.  Yet  there 
are  certain  objects  clearly  within  the  limits  of  the  constitu¬ 
tional  power  of  the  general  Government,  such  as  the 
suppression  of  the  internal  slave-trade,  and  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  district  of  Columbia,  for  which  it  is  unde¬ 
niably  lawful  and  constitutional  for  every  American  citizen 
to  strive  ;  and  the  attainment  of  which  would  suffice  to 
cripple,  and  ultimately  destroy  slavery  in  every  part  of 
the  Union.  The  slave-holding  power  is  so  sensible  of 
this,  that  all  its  united  strength  is  employed  to  retain  that, 
control  over  the  general  Government,  which  it  has  exer¬ 
cised  from  the  date  of  the  independence,  and  never  more 
despotically  than  at  the  present  time.  Amidst  the  difficul¬ 
ties  which  beset,  and  the  dangers  which  threatened  the 
country,  at  the  period  of  the  formation  of  the  constitution, 
the  southern  States  dictated  such  a  compromise  as  they 
thought  fit ;  and,  with  the  great  principles  of  liberty  par¬ 
aded  on  the  face  of  the  declaration  of  independence,  came 
into  the  Union  on  the  express  understanding  that  those 
principles  should  be  perpetually  violated  in  their  favor. 
Of  the  details  of  this  compromise,  by  far  the  most  import¬ 
ant,  and  one  which  has  mainly  contributed  to  consolidate 
the  political  supremacy  of  the  south,  is  the  investiture  of 
the  slave  masters  with  political  rights,  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  their  slave  property.  Every  five  slaves  confer 
three  votes  on  their  owner  ;  though,  in  other  points  of 
view,  a  slave  is  a  mere  chattel  —  an  article  of  property 
19* 


222 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


and  merchandize,  —  yet,  in  this  instance,  and  in  criminal 
proceedings  against  him,  his  personality  is  recognized, 
for  the  express  object  of  adding  to  the  weight  of  his  chains, 
and  increasing  the  power  of  his  oppressor. 

The  North,  in  voting  away  the  rights  and  freedom  of 
the  laboring  population  of  the  South,  surrendered  its  own 
liberty.  The  haughty  slave-holding  masters  of  the  great 
confederacy  have  from  the  beginning  chosen  the  Presi¬ 
dents,  and  the  high  officers  of  state,  and  have  controlled 
the  policy  of  the  Government,  from  a  question  of  peace  or 
war,  to  the  establishment  of  a  tariff  or  a  bank.  In  the 
executive  department  they  have  dictated  all  appoint¬ 
ments,  from  a  letter-carrier  to  an  ambassador ;  an  amus¬ 
ing  illustration  of  which  I  find  in  my  recent  correspon¬ 
dence.  A  late  member  of  the  Massachusetts  legislature, 
writes  on  the  Eighth  Month  (August)  26,  1841 : 

“  One  instance  of  the  all-pervading  espionage  of  the 
slave  power  I  may  mention.  The  newly  appointed  post¬ 
master  of  Philadelphia  employed,  among  his  numerous 
clerks  and  letter-carriers,  Joshua  Coffin,  who,  some  three 
years  ago,  aided  in  restoring  to  liberty  a  free  colored  citi¬ 
zen  of  New  York,  who  had  been  kidnapped  and  sold 
into  slavery.  The  appointment  of  the  postmaster  not  be¬ 
ing  confirmed,  he  wrote  to  his  friends  in  Congress  to  in¬ 
quire  the  reason,  and  was  told  that  the  delay  was  occa¬ 
sioned  by  the  fact  that  he  had  employed  Coffin  as  one  of 
his  letter-carriers !  Coffin  was  immediately  dismissed, 
and  the  senate  in  a  few  days  confirmed  the  appoinment ! 
Is  not  this  a  pitiful  business  ?  ” 

If  the  reader,  who  wishes  further  information,  will  con¬ 
sult  William  Jay’s  work,  entitled  “  A  View  of  the  Ac¬ 
tion  of  the  Federal  Government  in  behalf  of  Slavery,”  he 


PRO-SLAVERY  INFLUENCES  AT  THE  NORTH.  223 

will  find  ample  historical  proof  that  the  internal  and  ex¬ 
ternal  administration  of  the  Union  —  legislative,  execu¬ 
tive,  and  diplomatic  —  has  been  employed,  without  any 
deviation  from  consistency,  to  subserve  the  interests  of 
the  slave-holding  States.  Yet  these  States  are,  in  pop¬ 
ulation,  numerically  weaker  than  those  of  the  North,  and 
inferior,  to  a  far  greater  degree,  in  wealth,  intelligence, 
and  the  other  elements  of  political  power.  They  are 
strong  only  in  the  compactness  of  their  union,  while  the 
citizens  of  the  free  States  are  divided  in  interest  and 
opinion.  Here,  then,  is  presented  a  distinct  and  legiti¬ 
mate  object  for  those  of  the  abolitionists  who  regard  their 
political  rights  as  a  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the  oppressed 
and  helpless,  to  combine  the  scattered  and  divided 
power  of  the  North  into  a  united  phalanx,  which  shall 
wrest  the  administration  of  the  Federal  Union  from  the 
slave-holding  interest,  and  shall  purify  the  general  Gov¬ 
ernment  from  the  contamination  of  slavery,  by  reversing 
its  general  policy  on  that  subject,  and  by  the  adoption  of 
the  specific  measures  before  mentioned ;  while,  in  the 
States  in  which  they  respectively  reside,  the  abolitionists 
feel  it  to  be  their  duty  to  exert  themselves,  to  wipe  away 
from  the  statute  book  every  vestige  of  that  barbarism 
which  makes  political,  civil,  or  religious  rights  depend 
upon  the  color  of  the  skin. 

Yet  more  important  is  it,  however,  to  bring  the  moral 
force  of  the  North  to  bear  against  slavery,  by  reforming 
the  prevailing  public  sentiment  of  the  religious,  moral, 
and  intelligent  portion  of  the  community.  Here  again, 
one  of  the  most  sagacious  leaders  of  the  pro-slavery  party, 
J.  C.  Calhoun,  has  descried  the  danger  from  afar,  and 
has  publicly  proclaimed  it  in  the  senate  of  the  United 


224 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


States,  by  vehemently  deprecating  the  anti-slavery  pro¬ 
ceedings,  not  as  intended  to  provoke  the  slaves  to  a  ser¬ 
vile  war,  but  as  a  crusade  against  the  character  of  the 
slave-holders. 

Although  the  different  States  are  distinct  governments, 
their  geographical  boundaries  are  mere  lines  upon  the 
map ;  their  inhabitants  speak  the  same  language,  and  en¬ 
joy  a  communion  of  citizenship  all  over  the  Union.  The 
North  Eastern  States  have  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the. 
whole  commerce  of  the  Union,  and  are  the  medium 
through  which  the  planter  exchanges  his  cotton  for  pro¬ 
visions  and  clothing  for  his  slaves,  implements  for  his  ag¬ 
riculture,  and  his  own  family  supplies.  These  commer¬ 
cial  ties  create  a  direct  and  extensive  pro-slavery  interest 
in  the  North.  Again,  the  planter  is  yet  more  dependent 
on  the  North  for  education  for  his  children,  and  for  the 
gratification  of  his  own  intellectual  wants,  as  the  slave¬ 
holding  region  has  few  colleges,  and  those  of  secondary 
reputation ;  while  I  believe  it  has  no  periodical  of  higher 
pretension  than  the  political  newspapers.  The  pro-sla¬ 
very  re-action  in  this  way,  on  the  seminaries  of  the 
North,  and  on  the  literature  of  the  United  States,  is  most 
sensibly  felt. 

Another  powerful  cause  that  contributes  to  leaven  the 
entire  population  into  one  mind  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
is  the  double  migration  that  annually  takes  place  of  people 
of  the  Southern  States  to  the  North,  in  summer,  and  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  free  States  to  the  South  in  winter. 
Hence  follow  family  alliances,  the  interchange  of  hospi¬ 
talities,  and  a  fusion  of  sentiments,  so  that  the  slavery 
interest  spreads  its  countless  ramifications  through  every 
corner  of  the  free  north. 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  CHURCHES. 


225 


Another  cause,  and  perhaps  the  most  powerful  of  all, 
is  the  community  of  religious  fellowship  in  leading  denom¬ 
inations.  The  Episcopalians,  the  Methodists,  the  Bap¬ 
tists,  and  the  Presbyterians  of  two  schools,  are  severally 
but  one  body,  all  over  the  Union,  and  as  a  matter  of 
course,  all  are  tainted  with  slavery,  and  for  consistency’s 
sake,  make  common  cause  against  abolition.  The 
pamphlet  of  James  G.  Birney,  entitled  “  The  American 
Churches  the  Bulwarks  of  American  Slavery,”*  offers 
the  amplest  proof  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  the 
Baptist,  the  Presbyterian,  and  the  Anglican  Episcopal 
Churches  are  committed,  both  in  the  persons  of  their 
eminent  ministers,  and  by  resolutions  passed  in  a  church 
capacity,  to  the  monstrous  assertion  that  slavery,  so  far 
from  being  a  moral  evil,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  church 
to  seek  to  remove,  is  a  Christian  institution  resting  on  a 
scriptural  basis  ;  this  assertion  is  repeated  in  the  numerous 
quotations  of  the  pamphlet,  in  a  variety  and  force  of  ex¬ 
pression  that  show  the  utterers  were  resolved  not  to  leave 
their  meaning  in  the  smallest  doubt.  Indeed,  it  might  be 
supposed,  from  the  perusal  of  this  pamphlet,  that  the 
suppression  of  abolitionism,  if  not  the  maintenance  of 
slavery,  was  one  of  the  first  duties  of  the  Christian 
churches  in  America. 

The  following  extracts  are  offered  in  illustration : — 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. —  “Resolved, 
That  it  is  the  sense  of  the  Georgia  Annual  Conference, 
that  slavery,  as  it  exists  in  the  United  States,  is  not  a 
moral  evil 

“  The  Rev.  Wilbur  Fisk,  D.  D.,  late  President  of  the 


*  Published  by  Ward  &  Co.,  Paternoster-row,  London. 


226 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


(Methodist)  Wesleyan  University  in  Connecticut  — c  The 
New  Testament  enjoins  obedience  upon  the  slave  as  an 
obligation  due  to  a  present  rightful  authority.’  ” 

“  Rev.  E.  D.  Simms,  Professor  in  Randolph  Macon 
College,  a  Methodist  Institution — -‘Thus  we  see,  that 
the  slavery  which  exists  in  America,  was  founded  in 
right :  ” 

“  The  Rev.  William  Winans,  of  Mississippi,  in  the 
General  Conference,  in  1836  —  ‘Yes,  sir,  Presbyterians, 
Baptists,  Methodists,  should  be  slaveholders, — yes,  he 
repeated  it  boldly  —  there  should  be  members,  and 
deacons ,  and  elders  and  bishops,  too,  who  were  slave¬ 
holders.’  ” 

“  The  Rev.  J.  H.  Thornwell,  at  a  public  meeting, 
held  in  South  Carolina,  supported  the  following  resolu¬ 
tion —  ‘  That  slavery,  as  it  exists  in  the  South,  is  no  evil, 
and  is  consistent  with  the  principles  of  revealed  religion  ; 
and  that  all  opposition  to  it  arises  from  a  misguided  and 
fiendish  fanaticism,  which  we  are  bound  to  resist  in  the 
very  threshold.’  ” 

“  Rev.  Mr.  Crowder,  of  Virginia,  at  the  Annual 
Conference  in  Baltimore,  1840  —  ‘In  its  moral  aspect, 
slavery  was  not  only  countenanced,  permitted,  and 
regulated  by  the  Bible,  but  it  was  positively  instituted 
by  God  himself — he  had,  in  so  many  words,  en¬ 
joined  it.’  ” 

The  Baptist  Church  —  “  Memorial  of  the  Charles¬ 
ton  Baptist  Association,  to  the  Legislature  of  South  Car¬ 
olina  : 

“  ‘  The  right  of  masters  to  disyose  of  the  time  of  their 
slaves  has  been  distinctly  recognized  by  the  Creator  of 
all  things,  who  is  surely  at  liberty  to  vest  the  right  of 
property  over  any  object  in  whomsoever  he  pleases.” 


SLAVERY  IN  THE  CHURCHES. 


227 


“  Rev.  R.  Furman,  D.  D.,  of  South  Carolina  —  ‘  The 
right  of  holding  slaves  is  clearly  established  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  both  by  precept  and  example.’” 

“  The  late  Rev.  Lucius  Bolles,  D.  D.,  of  Massachu¬ 
setts,  Cor.  Sec.  Am:  Bap.  Board  for  Foreign  Missions, 
(1834.) — ‘  There  is  a  pleasing  degree  of  union  among 
the  multiplying  thousands  of  Baptists  throughout  the  land. 

.  .  Our  Southern  brethren  are  generally,  both  min¬ 

isters  and  people,  slave-holders.’  ” 

Presbyterian  Church.  —  “  Resolution  of  Charleston 
Union  Presbytery  —  ‘  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Pres¬ 
bytery,  the  holding  of  slaves,  so  far  from  beings  a  sin  in 
the  sight  of  God,  is  no  where  condemned  in  his  holy 
word.’  ” 

“  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Witherspoon,  of  Alabama,  writing 
to  the  Editor  of  the  Emancipator,  says  —  CI  draw  my 
warrant  from  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  to  hold  the  slave  in  bondage.  The  principle  of 
holding  the  heathen  in  bondage  is  recognized  by  God. 

.  .  When  the  tardy  process  of  the  law  is  too  long  in 

redressing  our  grievances,  we  of  the  South  have  adopted 
the  summary  remedy  of  Judge  Lynch  —  and  really,  I 
think  it  one  of  the  most  wholesome  and  salutary  remedies 
for  the  malady  of  Northern  fanaticism,  that  can  be 
applied.’  ” 

“Rev.  Robert  N.  Anderson,  of  Virginia  — ‘Now. 
dear  Christian  brethren,  I  humbly  express  it  as  my  earnest 
wish,  that  you  quit  yourselves  like  men.  If  there  be  any 
stray  goat  of  a  minister  among  you,  tainted  with  the  blood¬ 
hound  principles  of  abolitionism,  let  him  be  ferreted  out, 
silenced,  excommunicated,  and  left  to  the  public  to  dis¬ 
pose  of  him  in  other  respects .’  ” 


228 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. — 1  John  Jay, 
himself  an  Episcopalian  — ‘  She  has  not  merely  remained  a 
mute  and  careless  spectator  of  this  great  conflict  of  truth 
and  justice  with  hypocrisy  and  cruelty,  but  her  very 
yriests  and  deacons  may  be  seen  ministering  at  the  altar 
of  slavery ,  offering  their  talents  and  influence  at  its  unholy 
shrine,  and  openly  repeating  the  awful  blasphemy,  that 
the  precepts  of  our  Savior  sanction  the  system  of  Amer¬ 
ican  slavery ” 

In  page  25  is  the  following : — 

“  The  Rev.  James  Smylie,  A.  M.,  of  the  Amite  Pres¬ 
bytery,  Mississippi,  in  a  pamphlet,  published  by  him  a 
short  time  ago,  in  favor  of  American  slavery,  says:  — ‘  If 
slavery  be  a  sin,  and  advertising  and  apprehending  slaves, 
with  a  view  to  restore  them  to  their  masters,  is  a  direct 
violation  of  the  Divine  law  ;  and  if  the  buying ,  selling,  or 
holding  a  slave,  for  the  salce  of  gain,  is  a  heinous  sin  and 
scandal  ;  then,  verily,  three-fourths  of  all  the  Episcopa¬ 
lians,  Methodists,  Baptists,  and  Presbyterians,  in  eleven 
States  of  the  Union,  are  of  the  devil.  They  c  hold,’  if 
they  do  not  buy  and  sell  slaves,  and,  with  few  exceptions, 
they  hesitate  not  to  *  apprehend  and  restore  ’  runaway 
slaves,  when  in  their  power.” 

Yet.  in  the  face  of  evidence  so  overwhelming  as  this, 
showing  how  the  whole  moral  atmosphere  of  the  Northern 
States  is  tainted  with  pro-slavery  corruption,  the  aboli¬ 
tionists  are  frequently  taunted  with  the  question,  what  has 
the  North  to  do  with  slavery  ?  It  is,  however,  a  part  of 
their  vocation  to  bear  contempt  and  reproach.  They 
know  they  are  at  the  right  end  of  the  lever,  though  at 
some  apparent  distance  from  the  object  to  he  moved. 
Their  mission  is  to  correct  public  opinion  in  the  free 


STATE  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  ABOLITION. 


229 


States.  Let  us  suppose,  for  a  moment,  this  object  at¬ 
tained  —  the  whole  slave-holding  portion  of  the  churches 
cut  off,  as  a  diseased  and  corrupt  excrescence  ;  the  national 
literature  purified,  and  the  entire  community  pervaded  by 
sound  Christian  feeling  —  a  feeling  which  should  abhor  all 
participation,  in  word  or  deed,  with  the  guilt  of  slavery  ; 
and  how  could  the  South  maintain,  for  a  single  day,  the 
perpetual  warfare,  which  would  be  thus  waged  against 
her  from  without,  and  seconded  by  alarmed  consciences  in 
her  own  citadel  ? 

The  rise  of  the  present  abolition  movement  dates  from 
the  year  1832,  when  a  few  persons  met  at  Philadelphia, 
and  adopted  and  signed  a  declaration  of  their  sentiments. 
He,  however,  who  would  trace  anti-slavery  sentiments  to 
their  source,  must  go  back  to  the  first  era  of  Christianity, 
and  to  the  authoritative  promulgation  of  the  Divine  law  of 
love  by  the  lips  of  the  Savior  of  mankind  himself.  In 
the  darkest  times,  since  that  period,  the  true  doctrine  of 
the  unlawfulness  of  slavery  has  never  been  wholly  lost, 
being  in  fact  a  part  of  the  imperishable  substance  of  vital 
Christianity. 

From  1832  until  the  division  referred  to  in  an  early 
portion  of  this  work,  the  anti-slavery  societies  multiplied 
with  extraordinary  rapidity.  The  following  account  of 
the  present  state  of  the  cause  is  furnished  by  my  friend, 
John  G.  Whittier. 

“  He  who,  at  the  present  time,  judges  of  the  progress 
of  the  anti-slavery  cause  in  the  United  States,  by  statistics 
of  the  formation  of  new  societies,  or  the  activity  and 
efficiency  of  the  old,  will  obtain  no  adequate  idea  of  the 
truth.  The  unfortunate  divisions  among  the  American 
abolitionists,  and  the  difficulty  of  uniting,  for  any  con- 
20 


230 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


tinuous  effort,  those  who  differ  widely  as  to  the  proper 
means  to  be  used,  and  measures  to  be  pursued,  have,  in  a 
great  measure,  changed  the  direction  and  manifestation  of 
anti-slavery  feeling  and  action.  Thus,  while  public 
opinion,  in  all  the  free  States,  is  manifestly  approximating 
to  abolition,  and  new  converts  to  its  principles  are  daily 
avowing  themselves,  it  is  exceedingly  rare  to  hear  of  the 
formation  of  a  new  anti-slavery  society,  and  there  are  few 
accessions  to  those  which  are  already  in  existence.  Yet 
the  fresh  recipients  of  the  truths  of  anti-slavery  doctrine 
find  abundant  work  for  their  hands  to  do,  even  without  the 
pale  of  organized  societies,  in  purifying  the  churches  with 
which  they  are  connected,  and  in  counteracting  the  pro¬ 
slavery  politics  of  the  country. 

“  The  two  great  political  parties  in  the  United  States, 
radically  disagreeing  in  almost  all  other  points,  are  of  one 
heart  and  mind,  in  opposing  emancipation  ;  not,  I  sup¬ 
pose,  from  any  real  affinity  to,  or  love  for  the  ‘  peculiar 
institution,’  but  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  votes  of 
the  slave-holders,  who,  more  consistent  than  the  Northern 
abolitionists,  refuse  to  support  any  man  for  office,  who  is 
not  willing  to  do  homage  to  slavery.  The  competition 
between  these  two  parties  for  Southern  favor  is  one  of  the 
most  painful  and  disgusting  spectacles  which  presents  itself 
to  the  view  of  a  stranger  in  the  United  States.  To  every 
well  wisher  of  America  it  must  be  a  matter  of  interest  and 
satisfaction  to  know,  that  there  is  a  growing  determination 
in  the  free  States  to  meet  the  combination  of  slave-holders 
in  behalf  of  slavery,  by  one  of  freemen  in  behalf  of  liberty  ; 
and  thus  compel  the  party  politicians,  on  the  ground  of 
expediency,  if  not  of  principle,  to  break  from  the  thraldom 
of  the  slave  power,  and  array  themselves  on  the  side 
of  freedom. 


STATE  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  ABOLITION. 


231 


“  It  is  an  undoubted  fact,  that,  at  the  present  time, 
the  various  denominations  of  professing  Christians  in  the 
United  States  are  more  deeply  agitated  by  this  question 
than  at  any  former  period.  The  publication  of  such  books 
as  Weld’s  ‘Slavery  as  it  is,’  has  unveiled  the  monstrous 
features  of  slavery  to  the  Christian  public  in  the  Northern 
States.  The  blasphemous  attempts  of  Southern  professors 
and  ministers,  to  defend  their  abominable  practices  upon 
Christian  grounds,  have  powerfully  re-acted  against  them 
at  the  North  ;  and  church  after  church,  especially  in  New 
England,  is  taking  the  high  stand  of  the  late  General 
Convention  in  London,  in  withholding  its  fellowship  from 
slave-holders,  and  closing  its  pulpit  against  their  preachers. 

“  Recent  movements  in  the  slave  States  themselves 
encourage  the  friends  of  freedom.  In  Kentucky,  at  the 
late  election  for  state  officers,  one  of  the  candidates, 
Cassius  M.  Clay,  nephew  of  Henry  Clay,  avowed  his 
opposition  to  pro-slavery  principles  in  the  strongest  terms, 
and  staked  his  election  upon  this  avowal.  He  was 
warmly  supported,  and  his  opponent  only  succeeded  by  a 
small  majority.  Tennessee,  in  her  mountain  region,  has 
many  decided,  uncompromising  abolitionists,  whose  en¬ 
couraging  letters  and  statements  have  been  published 
within  the  last  year,  in  the  Northern  anti-slavery  papers. 
The  excellent  work  of  Joseph  John  Gurney,  on  the  West 
Indies,  and  Dr.  Channing’s  late  pamphlet,  entitled 
“  Emancipation,”  have  been  very  widely  circulated  in 
many  of  the  slave  States  ;  and,  so  far  as  can  be  ascer¬ 
tained,  have  been  read  with  interest  by  the  planters. 
The  movements  of  English  and  French  abolitionists  have 
attracted  general  attention,  and,  in  the  Southern  States, 

have  awakened  no  small  degree  of  solicitude. 

20* 


232 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


“  That  baleful  American  peculiarity,  prejudice  against 
color,  is  evidently  diminishing,  under  the  influence  of 
anti-slavery  principles  and  practice ;  and  the  laws  which 
have  oppressed  the  free  colored  citizen  are  rapidly  yield¬ 
ing  to  the  persevering  action  of  the  abolitionists.  Dr. 
Channing  has  not  over-stated  the  fact,  that  the  provision 
in  the  Federal  Constitution,  relative  to  the  reclaiming  of 
fugitive  slaves,  has  been  silently  but  effectually  repealed 
by  the  force  of  public  opinion,  and  the  interposition  of 
jur^trial,  in  many  of  the  free  States.  In  Massachusetts, 
Vermont,  Maine,  and  New  York,  with  the  exception  of 
its  slavery-ridden  commercial  emporium,  the  recovery  of  a 
slave  by  legalized  kidnappers  is  entirely  out  of  the  ques¬ 
tion.  In  any  one  of  these  States,  it  would,  to  use  the 
language  of  a  New  York  mechanic,  be  exceedingly  diffi¬ 
cult  to  prove,  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  jury  of  honest  free¬ 
men,  that  a  man  had  been  born  ‘  contrary  to  the  Declara¬ 
tion  of  Independence.’  The  frontiers  of  slavery  are  every 
where  very  much  exposed,  and  all  along  the  line  of 
Maryland,  Delaware,  Kentucky,  Virginia,  and  Missouri, 
the  tide  of  self-emancipated  men  and  women  is  pouring  in 
upon  the  free  States.  I  cannot  give  a  better  idea  of  the 
extent  of  this  peculiar  emigration,  than  by  copying  ex¬ 
tracts  from  the  Centreville  Times ,  a  paper  published  in 
Maryland  :  — 

“ c  Free  Negroes  and  Slaves.  —  When  it  is  too  late, 
the  people  of  Maryland  will  begin  to  look  for  the  means 
of  protection  in  their  slave  property.  We  still  say  slave 
property  ;  although,  notwithstanding  slaves  are  recognized 
as  property  by  the  constitution,  without  which  recognition 
this  confederation  never  would  have  been  formed  :  yet 
such  has  been  the  effect  of  fanaticism  and  emancipation, 


STATE  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  ABOLITION. 


233 


of  the  intermeddling  machinations  of  abolitionists,  and  the 
mischievous  agency  of  free  negroes  —  that  the  very  own¬ 
ers  of  this  species  of  property  seem  to  begin  to  doubt 
whether  slaves  are  property  or  not ;  and  so  much  has  its 
value  become  impaired,  in  the  possession  of  those  who 
reside  contiguous  to  the  non-slaveholding  States,  that  the 
question  has  been  raised,  whether  they  are,  in  fact,  worth 
keeping.  Either  discipline  must  be  so  much  relaxed,  as 
that  the  labor  of  the  slave  will  scarcely  pay  for  his  sup¬ 
port  ;  or,  if  forced  to  labor  no  more  than  is  even  neces¬ 
sary  to  health  and  contentment,  they  abscond,  and  pass¬ 
ing  over  the  lines  into  a  non-slaveholding  State,  are  there 
concealed  and  protected.  The  number  and  the  success 
of  elopements  leave  no  doubt  of  the  establishment  of  a 
regular  chain  of  posts,  accessary  to,  and  of  systematic 
plans,  deliberately  organized,  for  their  seduction  and  con¬ 
cealment.  In  these  escapes,  the  free  negroes  are,  for  the 
most  part,  undoubtedly  instrumental,  as  they  are  to  most 
of  the  robberies  committed  by  slaves.  While  at  Easton, 
two  weeks  since,  the  slaves  of  two  gentlemen  made  their 
escape,  being  each,  if  not  recovered,  a  loss  of  one  thou¬ 
sand  dollars ;  and  the  firm  persuasion  was,  that,  in  both 
cases,  the  runaways  were  furnished  with  passes  by  a  free 
negro  barber.  Even  if  apprehended,  these  gentlemen  will 
have  been  put  to  an  expense  of  not  less  than  three  hun¬ 
dred  dollars,  and  this  without  the  slightest  pretext  of  ill 
usage  or  unkindness. 

“  c  The  usual  process  is,  when  the  owner  is  supposed 
to  have  despaired  of  his  recovery,  for  some  abolition  or 
free  negro  lawyer  to  open  a  correspondence  with  the 
owner,  representing  the  runaway  to  be  in  Canada,  or  oth¬ 
erwise  beyond  apprehension  —  coolly  adding,  with  a  high- 


34 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 


wayman’s  impudence,  “  take  that  or  nothing ; 55  and  the 
owner  has  to  put  up  with  a  total  loss,  or  compromise  for 
a  third  of  the  value  of  his  property  —  the  result  in  either 
case,  proving  an  incentive  to  others  to  be  off  in  like  man¬ 
ner.  5  ” 


“  ‘  There  is  not  an  interest  that  is  not  impaired,  by  the 
proximity  of  the  free  States,  and  the  protection  there 
afforded  to  slaves,  and  by  the  presence  and  intercom¬ 
munion  of  the  free  with  the  slave  negro.  Even  the  value 
of  land  is  diminished  by  it.  Maryland  suffers  the  disad¬ 
vantages,  without  the  advantages  of  a  slave  State.  The 
disadvantage  consists  in  the  reputation,  (the  odium,  north 
of  the  Delaware,)  of  being  a  slave  State.  The  capital¬ 
ists  of  the  North  refuse ,  on  that  account ,  to  invest  in 
Maryland  lands,  though  they  could  buy  land  in  Mary¬ 
land  for  twenty  dollars  an  acre,  which  is  intrinsically 
worth  more  than  theirs,  which  they  could  sell  for  an  hun¬ 
dred.  Our  condition  is,  in  fact,  that  of  neither  the  one 
or  the  other;  and,  unless  something  can  be  done  to  coun¬ 
teract  the  progress  of  fanaticism  on  this  subject,  and  that 
abuse  of  strength  and  heedless  injustice  which  always  fol¬ 
lows  irresponsible  power,  slavery  in  Maryland  must  cease, 
either  by  sale,  while  that  right  remains  to  th  e  slave¬ 
holder,  or  ere  long,  by  forced  emancipation. 

u  1  Virginia  —  once  proud  and  independent  Virginia, 
already  half  captive  to  the  North — will  soon  take  her 
place  as  the  frontier  slave  State;  —  Maryland,  with  her 
Southern  principles,  eaten  out  by  Northern  men,  will  then 
assume  to  her  the  relation  that  Pennsylvania  now  bears  to 
Maryland ;  —  nay,  it  is  but  too  obvious  that,  as  things  are 
now  working,  in  process  of  time,  and  that  not  slowly, 


STATE  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  ABOLITION. 


235 


slavery  must  cease  to  exist  in  all  the  provision-growing 
States,  —  its  northernmost  line  will  be  the  line  of  the 
sugar,  the  rice,  and  the  cotton  culture,  —  the  climate  alone 
affording  to  the  slave-holder  that  shelter  which  justice 
could  not  offer  from  the  rapacity  of  his  pursuers.  Will 
the  Southern  still  accept  the  shadow  without  the  substance 
of  equal  and  confederate  powers  ?  Be  his  relation,  then, 
what  it  may  —  independent,  confederate,  or  colonial  —  for 
one,  we  say,  let  it  be  defined.  To  the  misery  of  the 
slave,  let  him  not  add  the  meanness  of  the  dupe.  Let 
him  remember,  that  time  and  corruption  have  often 
achieved  what  would  have  defied  the  power  of  the  sword; 
—  in  a  word,  let  the  slave-holder  think,  while  yet,  if  yet, 
he  has  power  to  act.’  ” 

i  have  now  concluded  an  imperfect  attempt  to  deline¬ 
ate  the  present  state  of  the  anti-slavery  cause,  on  the 
North  American  continent,  with  incidental  notices  of  the 
past  history  of  the  efforts  of  its  friends.  In  regard  to  the 
future,  my  hopes  are  built  on  the  continuance  of  these 
efforts,  and  on  the  concurrent  aid  afforded  by  the  march 
of  events,  both  in  the  United  States  and  in  the  world  at 
large,  under  the  manifestly  over-ruling  power  of  that  gra¬ 
cious  Being,  who  sometimes  employs  human  instrumen¬ 
tality  to  accomplish  His  purposes  of  mercy ;  but  who 
works  also  Himself,  by  His  immutable  laws,  and  by  the 
dispensations  of  His  providence. 


THE  END. 


I 


* 

. 


. 


* 


APPENDIX. 


Appendix  A.  p.  30. 

ANTI-SLAVERY  EPISTLE  OF  “FRIENDS”  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

“  From  our  Yearly  Meeting  held  in  London,  by  adjournment  from  the  20th 
of  the  5th  Month  to  the  29th  of  the  same  inclusive,  1840. 

“  To  the  Yearly  Meetings  of  Friends  on  the  Continent  of  North 

America. 

“  Dear  Friends,  —  We  think  it  a  favor  to  us,  and  we  accept 
it  as  an  evidence  that  our  Lord  is  mindful  of  us,  that  from  one 
time  to  another,  when  thus  assembled  for  mutual  edification,  and 
the  renewing  of  our  spiritual  strength,  we  are  in  any  small  meas¬ 
ure  brought  afresh  to  the  enjoyment  of  that  love  which  flows  from 
God  to  man,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Savior;  and  under  its 
blessed  influence  quickened  to  exercise  of  mind,  not  only  for  the 
health  and  prosperity  of  all  those  professing  the  same  faith  with 
ourselves,  but  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth, 
and  the  universal  prevalence  of  righteousness  and  truth  among 
men.  This  love  has  often  brought  us  in  Christian  compassion 
and  tenderness  of  spirit,  deeply  to  feel  for  that  portion  of  the 
great  family  of  man  subjected  to  the  degradation  and  cruelty  of 
slavery. 

“  We  do  not  cease  to  rejoice  with  reverent  thanksgiving  to 
Almighty  God,  for  the  termination  of  this  system  of  iniquity  in 
the  British  Colonies.  It  was  an  act  of  justice  on  the  part  of  our 
Legislature,  and  it  has  removed  an  enormous  load  of  guilt  from 
our  beloved  country ;  but  in  our  rejoicing,  we  cannot,  nor  would 
we  wish,  to  forget  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  our  brethren  and 
sisters  on  the  continent  of  America,  and  elsewhere,  still  detained 
in  this  abject  condition,  and  liable  to  all  the  misery  and  oppression 
which  it  entails  upon  its  victims. 


A 


11 


APPENDIX  A. 


“We  have  a  strong  conviction  of  the  guilt  and  sinfulness  of 
slavery,  and  its  pernicious  effects  upon  both  the  oppressed  and 
the  oppressor.  That  man  should  claim  a  right  of  property  in  the 
person  of  his  fellow  —  that  man  should  buy  and  sell  his  brother  — 
that  civil  governments  in  their  legislative  enactments,  should  so 
far  forget  that  ‘  God  who  giveth  to  all,  life,  and  breath,  and  all 
things,  and  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men,  for  to 
dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,’  as  to  treat  those  who  differ 
from  them  in  the  color  of  their  skin,  or  any  other  external  pecu¬ 
liarity,  as  beasts  that  perish,  as  chattels  and  articles  of  merchan¬ 
dise,  —  is  in  such  direct  violation  of  the  whole  moral  law,  and 
of  the  righteousness  of  the  New  Testament,  and  that  in  a  day  in 
which  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  are  so  fully 
acknowledged  in  many  of  the  nations  of  Christendom,  may  well 
excite  both  indignation  and  sorrow.  And  we  cannot  but  regard 
it  as  such  proof  of  hardness  of  heart,  and  perverted  understand¬ 
ing,  that  we  think  it  can  be  attributed  to  nothing  short  of  the 
deceivableness  of  Satan  working  upon  the  fallen  nature  of  man. 

“  It  was,  dear  friends,  in  the  gradual  unfolding  of  that  light  in 
which  the  things  that  are  reproved  are  made  manifest,  that  your 
forefathers  and  ours,  were  brought  to  see  the  criminality  of 
slavery.  Thus  enlightened,  they  could  find  no  peace  with  God, 
until  they  had  put  away  this  evil  of  their  doings  from  before  his 
eyes  —  until  by  a  conscientious  discharge  of  their  individual 
religious  duty,  they  had  restored  those  whom  they  held  in  bon¬ 
dage,  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  unqualified  freedom.  Under  the 
influence  of  Divine  wisdom,  and  by  this  faithfulness  on  the  part 
of  upright  Friends,  our  religious  society  were  brought  to  a  united 
and  settled  judgment  as  a  body,  that  personal  slavery,  both  in  its 
origin  and  its  results,  was  so  great  an  evil,  that  it  could  be  toler¬ 
ated  by  no  mitigation  of  its  hardship  ;  and  they  felt  the  demands 
of  equity  to  be  so  urgent  upon  them,  that  they  were  concerned  to 
enjoin  it  upon  Friends  every  where,  by  a  ready  compliance  with 
such  reasonable  duty,  to  cease  to  do  evil,  by  immediately  releasing 
those  they  held  as  slaves.  Their  own  hands  being  cleansed 
from  this  pollution,  they  felt  it  to  be  laid  upon  them,  plainly  and 
faithfully,  to  labor  with  their  countrymen  to  bring  them  to  a  full 
understanding  of  the  requiring  of  the  Divine  law,  and  to  press  it 
upon  them  to  act  up  to  its  commandments.  In  the  love  of  God, 


APPENDIX  A. 


Ill 


they  were  bold,  both  in  your  country  and  in  ours,  to  plead  the 
cause  of  the  oppressed  with  those  in  power.  We  believe,  and 
we  would  wish  to  speak  of  it  with  modesty  and  humility,  that 
their  faithfulness,  in  connection  with  the  exertions  of  humane  and 
devoted  men  of  other  Christian  communities,  were  instrumental 
to  bring  about  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  as  well  as  the 
extinction  of  slavery. 

“  We  are  reverently  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  prerogatives 
of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  to  dispose  of  his  servants,  and 
to  employ  their  time,  and  every  talent  which  he  has  intrusted 
them,  in  such  a  way  and  manner  as  may  consist  with  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  his  wisdom  and  love.  It  is  the  concern  of  this  Meeting, 
that  all  our  dear  friends  may  carefully  seek  each  to  know  his 
Lord’s  will,  and  to  ascertain  his  individual  path  of  duty  ;  at  the 
same  time  we  desire  to  encourage  one  another  to  simple  obedi¬ 
ence  to  that  which  in  the  true  light  may  be  made  manifest  to 
them  ;  and  each  to  an  unflinching  and  uncompromising  avowal  of 
his  allegiance  to  his  Lord  in  all  things. 

“  W e  observe  with  satisfaction  and  comfort,  in  the  epistles 
from  your  Yearly  Meetings,  which  have  been  read  in  this  Meeting, 
that  there  is  a  very  general  acknowledgment  of  concern  on  this 
important  subject.  It  has  often  been  a  prominent  feature  in  the 
brotherly  correspondence  which  subsists  between  us.  The  ex¬ 
pression  of  your  encouragement  in  times  past,  has  been  helpful 
to  us,  and  in  the  trials  and  difficulties  you  have  had  to  endure, 
our  hearts  have  been  brought  into  fellow  feeling  with  you.  In 
this  work  of  justice  and  love,  we  have  long  labored  together.  It 
has  helped  to  strengthen  the  bond  of  our  union ;  and  in  the  fresh 
sense  of  this  Christian  fellowship,  as  it  is  now  renewed  amongst 
us,  we  offer  you,  beloved  friends,  the  warm  expression  of  our 
sympathy,  and  our  strong  desire  for  your  help  and  encourage¬ 
ment.  So  far  removed  as  we  are  from  the  scene  of  slavery,  we 
are  aware  that  we  can  but  imperfectly  appreciate  either  the  suf¬ 
ferings  of  the  slave,  or  the  trials  of  those  who  live  in  the  midst  of 
such  oppression  ;  nor  do  we  believe  that  we  can  fully  appreciate 
either  the  labors  of  faithful  Friends  in  your  land,  or  the  obstacles 
and  discouragements  which  have  been  thrown  in  their  way. 

“  The  brief  review  we  have  taken  of  the  history  of  our  Society, 
in  reference  to  this  deeply  interesting  subject,  and  the  feeling 


IV 


APPENDIX  A. 


which  prevails  with  us,  under  a  sense  of  the  enormity  of  the  evil, 
urges  us,  and  we  desire  that  it  may  have  the  same  effect  upon 
you,  still  to  persevere ;  and  in  every  way  that  may  be  pointed  out 
to  us  of  the  Lord,  that  we  may  continue  to  expose  the  evil  of  this 
unjust  interference  with  the  natural  and  social  rights  of  man. 
Time  is  short,  the  day  is  spending  fast  with  every  one  of  us,  and 
we  had  need  to  use  diligence  in  the  work  of  our  day.  We  know 
the  high  authority  under  which  we  are  commanded  to  ‘  love  our 
neighbor  as  ourselves.’  It  is  our  desire  on  our  own  account,  and 
in  this  exercise  of  mind  we  believe,  dear  friends,  that  you  are  one 
with  us,  that  in  our  efforts  to  discharge  the  duties  laid  upon  us, 
we  may  watch  against  a  hopeless  and  distrustful  spirit  in  times  of 
discouragement.  And  O  that  in  his  great  mercy  and  love  to¬ 
wards  his  poor  afflicted  and  helpless  children,  it  might  please  Him 
to  hasten  the  coming  of  that  day,  even  to  this  generation  of  the 
enslaved  in  your  land,  in  which  every  yoke  shall  be  broken  and 
the  oppressed  go  free. 

“  If,  in  this  righteous  cause,  we  move  in  the  leading  of  our 
Lord,  we  may  humbly  trust  that  he,  with  whom  there  is  no  re¬ 
spect  of  persons,  who  careth  for  the  sparrows  and  feedeth  the  ra¬ 
vens,  will  grant  to  his  dependent  ones  the  help  and  support  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  and  enable  them,  in  the  face  of  every  opposition,  to 
do  that  which  is  made  known  to  them  as  his  will. 

“  With  the  enlarged  views  entertained  by  Friends  of  the 
mercy  and  love  of  our  heavenly  Father  towards  his  children  of 
every  nation  and  tongue  all  the  world  over,  we  desire  to  press  it 
upon  you  still  to  labor  for  the  removal  of  all  those  unjust  laws 
and  limitations  of  right  and  privilege  consequent  upon  the  un¬ 
warrantable  distinction  of  color  —  a  distinction  which  has  brought 
so  much  suffering  upon  those  settled  in  different  parts  of  the 
Union,  and  which  we  think  must  conduce  to  the  strengthening 
of  the  prejudices  of  former  years,  and  to  retard  the  work  of  eman¬ 
cipation. 

“It  is  affecting  to  us  to  think  with  what  astonishing  rapidity 
slavery  is  extending  itself  upon  the  Continent  of  North  America, 
and  how  from  year  to  year  the  slave  population  is  increasing 
among  you.  Our  spirits  are  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  the  mag¬ 
nitude  of  the  evil ;  we  tremble  at  the  awful  consequence  which, 
in  the  justice  and  wisdom  of  Almighty  God,  may  ensue  to  those 


APPENDIX  B. 


V 


who  persist  in  the  upholding  of  it.  We  commend  the  whole  sub¬ 
ject  to  your  most  serious  attention,  and  desiring  that  divine  wis¬ 
dom  may  be  near  to  help  in  your  deliberations  upon  it, 

“We  bid  you,  affectionately,  farewell. 

“  Signed  in  and  on  behalf  of  the  Meeting,  by 

“George  Stacey, 

“  Clerk  to  the  Meeting  this  year." 


Appendix  B.  p.  30. 

EARLY  EFFORTS  OF  “FRIENDS”  IN  BEHALF  OF  NEGRO 

SLAVES. 

The  following  extract  from  Clarkson’s  “Memoirs  of  the  Pub¬ 
lic  and  Private  Life  of  William  Penn,”  will  show  how  the  society 
of  Friends,  at  a  very  early  period,  became  unwarily  entangled 
with  the  practice  of  slave  holding ;  and  also  that  the  unchristian 
nature  of  it  was  immediately  perceived  by  the  more  spiritual 
minded  among  them.  It  will  serve  also  to  prove  that  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  Friends  against  slavery  is  no  novelty,  but  is  coeval  with 
its  rise  as  a  distinct  religious  body.  The  measures  proposed  by 
William  Penn  on  this  subject,  are  an  honorable  testimony  to  the 
comprehensive  benevolence  of  that  truly  great  and  magnanimous 
legislator,  yet  they  fell  short  of  the  exigencies  of  the  case,  and  of 
what  Christian  people  required;  consequently  what  good  they 
directly  effected  was  local  and  temporary.  Viewed  as  the  germ 
of  subsequent  anti-slavery  enterprises  of  the  last  century,  in  Eu¬ 
rope  and  America,  their  interest  and  importance  cannot  be  too 
highly  estimated. 

“  I  must  observe,  that  soon  after  the  colony  (Pennsylvania) 
had  been  planted,  that  is,  in  the  year  1682,  when  William  Penn 
was  first  resident  in  it,  some  few  Africans  had  been  imported,  but 
that  more  had  followed.  At  this  time  the  traffic  in  slaves  was  not 
branded  with  infamy,  as  at  the  present  day.  It  was  considered, 
on  the  other  hand,  as  favorable  to  both  parties :  to  the  American 
planters,  because  they  had  but  few  laborers,  in  comparison  with 
the  extent  of  their  lands ;  and  to  the  poor  Africans  themselves, 


VI 


APPENDIX  B. 


because  they  were  looked  upon  as  persons  redeemed  out  of  su¬ 
perstition,  idolatry,  and  heathenism.  But  though  the  purchase 
and  sale  of  them  had  been  admitted  with  less  caution  upon  this 
principle,  there  were  not  wanting  among  the  Quakers  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania  those  who,  soon  after  the  introduction  of  them  there,  be¬ 
gan  to  question  the  moral  licitness  of  the  traffic.  Accordingly, 
at  the  Yearly  Meeting  for  Pennsylvania,  held  in  1688,  it  had  been 
resolved,  on  the  suggestion  of  emigrants  from  Crisheim,  who  had 
adopted  the  principles  of  William  Penn,  that  the  buying,  selling, 
and  holding  men  in  slavery,  was  inconsistent  with  the  tenets  of 
the  Christian  religion.  In  1696,  a  similar  resolution  had  been 
passed  at  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  the  same  religious  society  for 
the  same  province.  In  consequence,  then,  of  these  noble  resolu¬ 
tions,  the  Quakers  had  begun  to  treat  their  slaves  in  a  different 
manner  from  that  of  other  people.  They  had  begun  to  consider 
them  as  children  of  the  same  great  Parent,  to  whom  fraternal  offi¬ 
ces  were  due;  and  hence,  in  1698,  there  were  instances  where 
they  had  admitted  them  into  their  meeting  houses  to  worship  in 
common  with  themselves.* 

*  “  I  cannot  help  copying  into  a  note  an  anecdote  from  Thomas  Story’s 
Journal  for  this  year  (1698).  ‘  On  the  13th/  says  he, 1  we  had  a  pretty  large 
meeting,  where  several  were  tendered,  among  whom  were  some  negroes. 
And  here  I  shall  observe,  that  Thomas  Simons  having  several  negroes,  one 
of  them,  as  also  several  belonging  to  Henry  White,  had  of  late  come  to 
meetings,  and  having  a  sense  of  truth,  several  others  thereway  were  like¬ 
wise  convinced,  and  like  to  do  well.  And  the  morning  that  we  came  from 
Thomas  Simons’s,  my  companion  speaking  some  words  of  truth  to  his  negro 
woman,  she  was  tendered ;  and  as  I  passed  on  horseback  by  the  place  where 
she  stood  weeping,  I  gave  her  my  hand,  and  then  she  was  much  more  bro¬ 
ken  :  and  finding  the  day  of  the  Lord’s  tender  visitation  and  mercy  upon 
her,  I  spake  encouragingly  to  her,  and  was  glad  to  find  the  poor  blacks  so 
near  the  truth  and  reachable.  She  stood  there,  looking  after  us  and  weep¬ 
ing,  as  long  as  we  could  see  her.  I  had  inquired  of  one  of  the  black  men 
how  long  they  had  come  to  meetings,  and  he  said  1  they  had  always  been 
kept  in  ignorance,  and  disregarded  as  persons  who  were  not  to  expect  any 
thing  from  the  Lord,  till  Jonathan  Taylor,  who  had  been  there  the  year  be¬ 
fore,  discoursing  with  them,  had  informed  them  that  the  grace  of  God, 
through  Christ,  was  given  also  to  them ;  and  that  they  ought  to  believe  in 
and  be  led  and  taught  by  it,  and  so  might  come  to  be  good  Friends,  and 
saved  as  well  as  others.  And  on  the  next  occasion,  which  was  when  Wil¬ 
liam  Ellis  and  Aaron  Atkinson  were  there,  they  went  to  meetings,  and 
several  of  them  were  convinced.'  Thus  one  planteth  and  another  water- 
eth,  but  God  giveth  the  increase.” 


APPENDIX  B. 


Vll 


“  William  Penn  was  highly  gratified  by  the  consideration  of 
what  has  been  done  on  this  important  subject  From  the  very 
first  introduction  of  enslaved  Africans  into  this  province,  he  had 
been  solicitous  about  their  temporal  and  eternal  welfare.  He 
had  always  considered  them  as  persons  of  the  like  nature  with 
himself ;  as  having  the  same  desire  of  pleasure  and  the  same 
aversion  from  pain ;  as  children  of  the  same  Father,  and  heirs  of 
the  same  promises.  Knowing  how  naturally  the  human  heart 
became  corrupted  and  hardened  by  the  use  of  power,  he  was  fear¬ 
ful  lest,  in  time,  these  friendless  strangers  should  become  an  op¬ 
pressed  people.  Accordingly,  as  his  predecessor,  George  Fox, 
when  he  first  visited  the  British  West  Indies,  exhorted  all  those 
who  attended  his  meetings  for  worship  there,  to  consider  their 
slaves  as  branches  of  their  own  families,  for  whose  spiritual  in¬ 
struction  they  would  one  day  or  other  be  required  to  give  an  ac¬ 
count,  so  William  Penn  had,  on  his  first  arrival  in  America,  in¬ 
culcated  the  same  notion.  It  lay,  therefore,  now  upon  his  mind 
to  endeavor  to  bring  into  practice  what  had  appeared  to  him  to 
be  right  in  principle.  One  of  them  was  to  try  to  incorporate  the 
treatment  of  slaves,  as  a  matter  of  Christian  duty,  into  the  disci¬ 
pline  of  his  own  religious  society ;  and  the  other,  to  secure  it 
among  others  in  the  colony  of  a  different  religious  description, 
by  a  legislative  act.  Both  of  these  were  necessary.  The  former, 
however,  he  resolved  to  attempt  first.  The  Society  itself  had 
already  afforded  him  a  precedent,  by  its  resolutions  in  1688  and 
in  1696,  as  before  mentioned,  and  had  thereby  done  something 
material  in  the  progress  of  the  work.  It  was  only  to  get  a 
minute  passed  upon  their  books  to  the  intended  effect.  Accord¬ 
ingly,  at  the  very  first  Monthly  Meeting  of  the  Society,  which 
took  place  in  Philadelphia  in  the  present  year,  he  proposed  the 
subject.  He  laid  before  them  the  concern  which  had  been  so 
long  upon  his  mind,  relative  to  these  unfortunate  people ;  he 
pressed  upon  them  the  duty  of  allowing  them  as  frequently  as 
possible  to  attend  their  Meetings  for  worship,  and  the  benefit 
that  would  accrue  to  both,  by  the  instruction  of  them  in  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  result  was,  that  a  Meeting 
was  appointed  more  particularly  for  the  negroes,  once  every 
month ;  so  that  besides  the  common  opportunities  they  had  of 
collecting  religious  knowledge,  by  frequenting  the  places  of 


APPENDIX  C. 


•  •  » 

VIII 

worship,  there  was  one  day  in  the  month,  in  which,  as  far  as  the 
influence  of  the  Monthly  Meeting  extended,  they  could  neither 
be  temporally  nor  spiritually  overlooked.  At  this  Meeting  also, 
he  proposed  means,  which  were  acceded  to,  for  a  more  frequent 
intercourse  between  Friends  and  the  Indians ;  he  (William 
Penn,)  taking  upon  himself  the  charge  of  procuring  interpreters, 
as  well  as  of  forwarding  the  means  proposed.” — Vol.  II.  pp.  218 — 
222. 


Appendix  C.  p.  34. 

Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends,  held  in  Phila¬ 
delphia,  appointed  for  the  Gradual  Civilization,  &c.,  of  the  Indian  Na¬ 
tives,  presented  to  the  meeting,  Fourth  Month  21st,  1841,  and  directed  to 
be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  members. 

“  TO  THE  YEARLY  MEETING. 

“  The  Committee  charged  with  promoting  the  Gradual 
Improvement  and  Civilization  of  the  Indian  Natives,  report:  — 

“  That  although  they  have  given  attention  to  this  interesting 
concern,  there  are  but  few  subjects  in  their  operations,  since  the 
last  report,  which  require  notice.  The  Indians  have  been  in  a 
very  unsettled  condition  during  the  past  year,  in  consequence  of 
the  embarrassment  and  distress  produced  by  the  ratification  of 
the  treaty,  and  their  uncertainty  as  to  the  best  course  to  be  pur¬ 
sued  by  them  in  their  trying  and  perplexing  circumstances. 
They  still  cling  to  the  hope  that  they  shall  be  able  to  ward  off 
the  calamity  which  threatens  them,  either  through  the  favorable 
disposition  of  the  new  Administration  and  Senate,  to  give  their 
case  a  re-hearing,  or  by  an  Appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  Small  as  the  hope  afforded  by  these  sources  may 
appear  to  a  disinterested  observer,  they  are  buoyed  up  by  it,  and 
seem  as  unwilling  as  ever,  to  look  toward  relinquishing  their 
present  homes. 

“  In  a  communication  addressed  to  the  committee,  dated 
Tunesassah,  Fifth  Month  24th,  1840,  signed  by  ten  chiefs,  they 
say,  ‘  Although  the  information  of  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  is 
distressing  to  us,  yet  it  is  a  satisfaction  to  hear  from  you,  and  to 


APPENDIX  C. 


ix 


learn  that  you  still  remember  us  in  our  troubles,  and  are  disposed 
to  advise  and  assist  us.  The  intelligence  of  the  confirmation  of 
the  treaty  caused  many  of  our  women  to  shed  tears  of  sorrow. 
We  are  sensible  that  we  stand  in  need  of  the  advice  of  our 
friends.  Our  minds  are  unaltered  on  the  subject  of  emigration.’ 
Another  dated  Cold  Spring,  Twelfth  Month  8th,  1840,  holds  this 
language  :  ‘  Brothers,  we  continue  to  feel  relative  to  the  treaty  as 
we  have  ever  felt.  We  cannot  regard  it  as  an  act  of  our  nation, 
or  hold  it  to  be  binding  on  us.  We  still  consider,  that  in  justice, 
the  land  is  at  this  time  as  much  our  own  as  ever  it  was.  We 
have  done  nothing  to  forfeit  our  right  to  it ;  and  have  come  to  a 
conclusion  to  remain  upon  it  as  long  as  we  can  enjoy  it  in  peace.’ 
‘  We  trust  in  the  Great  Spirit:  to  Him  we  submit  our  cause.’ 

“  A  letter  from  the  Senecas,  residing  at  Tonawanda,  was 
addressed  to  the  Committee,  from  which  the  following  extracts 
are  taken : 

“  ‘  By  the  help  of  the  Great  Spirit  we  have  met  in  open  coun¬ 
cil  this  23d  day  of  the  Fifth  Month,  1840,  for  the  purpose  of 
deliberating  on  the  right  course  for  us  to  pursue  under  the  late 
act  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  relating  to  our  lands. 
Brothers,  we  are  in  trouble ;  we  have  been  told  that  the  Presi¬ 
dent  has  ratified  a  treaty,  by  which  these  lands  are  sold  from  our 
possession.  We  look  to  you  and  solicit  your  advice  and  your 
sympathy  under  the  accumulating  difficulties  that  now  surround 
us.  We  feel  more  than  ever,  our  need  of  the  help  of  the  great 
and  good  Spirit,  to  guide  us  aright.  May  his  council  ever 
preserve  and  direct  us  all  in  true  wisdom. 

“  ‘  It  is  known  to  you,  brothers,  that  at  different  times  our 
people  have  been  induced  to  cede,  by  stipulated  treaties,  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  various  tracts  of  our  territory, 
until  it  is  so  reduced  that  it  barely  affords  us  a  home.  We  had 
hoped  by  these  liberal  concessions  to  secure  the  quiet  and  unmo¬ 
lested  possession  of  this  small  residue,  but  we  have  abundant 
reason  to  fear  that  we  have  been  mistaken.  The  agent  and 
surveyor  of  a  company  of  land  speculators,  known  as  the  Ogden 
Company,  have  been  on  here  to  lay  out  our  land  into  lots,  to  be 
sold  from  us  to  the  whites.  We  have  protested  against  it,  and 
have  forbidden  their  proceeding. 

“  Brothers,  what  we  want,  is  that  you  should  intercede  with 


X 


APPENDIX  C. 


the  United  States  government  on  our  behalf.  We  do  not  want 
to  leave  our  lands.  We  are  willing  that  the  emigrating  party 
should  sell  out  their  rights,  but  we  are  not  willing  that  they 
should  sell  ours. 

“‘Brothers,  we  want  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
know  that  we  are  for  peace  ;  that  we  only  ask  the  possession  of 
our  just  rights.  We  have  kept  in  good  faith  all  our  agreements 
with  the  government.  In  our  innocence  of  any  violation  we  ask 
its  protection.  In  our  weakness  we  look  to  it  for  justice  and 
mercy.  We  desire  to  live  upon  our  lands  in  peace  and  harmony. 
We  love  Tonawanda.  It  is  the  residue  left  us  of  the  land  of  our 
forefathers.  We  have  no  wish  to  leave  it.  Here  are  our  culti¬ 
vated  fields,  our  houses,  our  wives  and  children,  and  our  firesides 
— and  here  we  wish  to  lay  our  bones  in  peace. 

“  ‘  Brothers,  in  conclusion,  we  desire  to  express  our  sincere 
thanks  to  you  for  your  friendly  assistance  in  times  past,  and  at 
the  same  time  earnestly  solicit  your  further  attention  and  advice. 
Brothers,  may  the  Great  Spirit  befriend  you  all  —  farewell.’ 

“  Desirous  of  rendering  such  aid  as  might  be  in  our  power,  a 
correspondence  has  been  held  with  some  members  of  Congress, 
on  the  subject  of  the  treaty,  and  other  matters  connected  with  it ; 
and  recently,  two  of  our  number  visited  Washington,  and  were 
assured  by  the  present  Secretary  of  War,  under  whose  immediate 
charge  the  Indian  affairs  are  placed,  that  it  was  his  determina¬ 
tion,  and  that  of  the  other  officers  of  the  government,  to  give  to 
the  treaty,  and  the  circumstances  attending  its  procurement,  a 
thorough  examination  ;  and  to  adopt  such  a  course  respecting  it, 
as  justice  and  humanity  to  the  Indians  would  dictate. 

“The  friends  who  have  for  several  years  resided  at  Tunesas- 
sah  still  continue  to  occupy  the  farm,  and  have  charge  of  the  saw 
and  grist  mills  and  other  improvements.  The  farm,  during  the 
past  year,  has  yielded  about  thirty-five  tons  of  hay,  two  hundred 
bushels  of  potatoes,  one  hundred  bushels  of  oats,  and  one  hun¬ 
dred  bushels  of  apples.  Notwithstanding  the  unsettlement  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  treaty  during  the  past  season,  the  Indians  have 
raised  an  adequate  supply  of  provisions  to  keep  them  comfortably 
during  the  year ;  and  they  manifest  an  increased  desire  to  avoid 
the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  to  have  their  children  educated.  In 
their  letter  of  the  Twelfth  Month  last,  the  chiefs  say,  ‘We  are 


APPENDIX  D. 


XI 


more  engaged  to  have  our  children  educated  than  we  have  here¬ 
tofore  been.  There  are  at  this  time  three  schools  in  operation  on 
this  reservation,  for  the  instruction  of  our  youth.’ 

“  Our  friend,  Joseph  Batty,  in  a  letter  dated  28th  of  Second 
Month  last,  says,  ‘The  Indians  have  held  several  temperance 
councils  this  winter.  The  chiefs  —  with  the  exception  of  two, 
who  were  not  present  —  have  all  signed  a  pledge  to  abstain  from 
the  use  of  all  intoxicating  liquors,  and  appear  engaged  to  bring 
about  a  reform  among  their  people;  but  the  influence  of  the 
whites  among  them  is  prejudicial  to  their  improvement  in  this 
and  other  respects.’ 

“  By  direction  of  the  Committee, 

“Thomas  Wistar,  Clerk. 

“  Philadelphia ,  kth  Month  15 th,  1841.” 


Appendix  D.  p.  44. 

/ 

ELISHA  TYSON. 

The  following  particulars  of  this  memorable  person  are  chiefly 
taken  from  a  work,  now  very  scarce,  entitled  “  The  Life  of  Elisha 
Tyson,  the  Philanthropist,  by  a  Citizen  of  Baltimore.” 

“  The  eldest  known  ancestor  of  Mr.  Tyson  was  a  German 
Quaker,  converted  to  the  faith  of  Fox  by  the  preaching  of  Wil¬ 
liam  Penn.  Persecuted  by  the  government  of  his  native  country 
for  his  religion,  he  gathered  up  his  all  and  followed  Penn  to  Eng¬ 
land  ;  with  whom,  and  at  whose  request,  he  afterwards  embarked 
for  America,  and  was  among  the  first  settlers  of  Pennsylvania. 
He  established  himself  within  what  are  now  called  the  environs 
of  Philadelphia,  married  the  daughter  of  an  English  settler,  and 
became  the  happy  father  of  sons  and  daughters.  From  these, 
many  descendants  have  been  derived. 

“Elisha  Tyson  was  one  of  the  great  grandsons  in  direct 
descent  of  the  German  Quaker,  and  was  born  on  the  spot  which 
he  had  chosen  for  his  residence.  The  religion  and  virtues  of  this 
ancestor  Were  instilled  into  the  minds  of  his  children  and  chil¬ 
dren’s  children,  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation  —  not  by  trans- 


Xll 


APPENDIX  D. 


mission  of  blood,  but  by  the  force  of  a  guarded  and  a  Christian 
education.  In  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  they  blazed  forth  with 
superior  lustre.  From  his  infancy  he  was  conspicuous  in  his 
neighborhood  for  that  benevolence  of  heart  and  intrepidity  of 
soul,  which  so  highly  distinguished  him  in  after  life.” 

In  his  early  manhood  he  removed  to  Baltimore,  in  the  slave 
State  of  Maryland.  Here,  from  his  first  residence,  he  took  an 
active  part  in  various  benevolent  and  public  spirited  enterprises, 
although  he  had  to  struggle  with  early  difficulties,  having  no  re¬ 
sources  for  his  support  but  honesty,  industry,  and  perseverance. 
The  cause  of  the  oppressed  slaves  very  soon  engaged  his  atten¬ 
tion,  and  his  unwearied  exertions  in  their  behalf  ceased  not  till 
the  close  of  a  long  and  energetic  life.  In  the  following  quota¬ 
tion,  describing  the  American  slave  trade,  although  the  past  tense 
is  employed  by  his  biographer,  yet  if  Louisiana  be  substituted  for 
Georgia,  the  whole  representation  is  true  of  the  present  time. 
That  dreadful  traffic  has  increased  many  fold  since  the  date  here 
alluded  to,  at  which  E.  Tyson’s  career  of  benevolence  com¬ 
menced. 

“  Even  the  most  creditable  merchants  felt  no  compunction  in 
speculating  in  the  flesh  and  blood  of  their  own  species.  These 
articles  of  merchandize  were  as  common  as  wheat  and  tobacco, 
and  ranked  with  these  as  a  staple  of  Maryland.  This  state  of 
things  was  naturally  productive  of  scenes  of  cruelty.  Georgia 
was  then  the  great  receptacle  of  that  portion  of  these  unfortunate 
beings,  who  were  exported  beyond  the  limits  of  their  native  soil ; 
and  the  worst  name  given  to  Tartarus  itself  could  not  be  more 
appalling  to  their  imaginations  than  the  name  of  that  sister  State. 
And  when  we  consider  the  dreadful  consequences  suffered  by  the 
victims  of  this  traffic  ;  a  separation  like  that  of  death  between 
the  nearest  and  dearest  relatives  ;  a  banishment  for  ever  from  the 
land  of  their  nativity  and  the  scenes  of  their  youth  ;  the  painful 
inflictions  by  the  hands  of  slave  drivers,  to  whom  cruelty  was 
rendered  delightful  by  its  frequent  exercise  ;  with  many  other 
sufferings  too  numerous  to  mention,  we  cannot  wonder  at  this 
horror  on  the  part  of  these  unfortunate  beings,  and  that  it  should 
cause  them  to  use  all  the  means  in  their  power  to  avoid  so  terrible 
a  destiny.  The  slave-trader,  aware  of  all  this,  and  fearful  lest 
his  victims  might  seek  safety  by  flight,  became  increasingly 


APPENDIX  D. 


Xlll 


careful  of  his  property.  With  these  men,  and  upon  such  subjects, 
care  is  cruelty ;  and  thus  the  apparent  necessity  of  the  case  came 
in  aid  of  the  favorite  disposition  of  their  minds.  They  charged 
their  victims  with  being  the  authors  of  that  cruelty,  which  had  its 
true  origin  in  their  own  remorseless  hearts.  Their  plea  for  addi¬ 
tional  rigor,  being  plausibly  urged,  was  favorably  received  by  a 
community  darkened  by  prejudice.  Few  regarded  with  pity, 
and  most  with  stoical  indifference,  this  barbarous  correction  for 
crimes  anticipated,  and  rigorous  penance  for  offences  existing 
only  in  the  diabolical  fancies  of  their  tormentors.  The  truth  is, 
it  was  the  love  these  poor  wretches  bore  their  wives,  children, 
and  native  soil,  for  which  they  were  punished.  They  were  com¬ 
monly  bound  two  and  two  by  chains,  riveted  to  iron  collars 
fastened  around  their  necks,  more  and  more  closely,  as  their 
drivers  had  more  and  more  reason  to  suspect  a  desire  to  escape. 
If  they  were  conveyed  in  wagons,  as  they  sometimes  were,  addi¬ 
tional  chains  were  so  fixed,  as  to  connect  the  right  ancle  of  one 
with  the  left  ancle  of  another,  so  that  they  were  fastened  foot  to 
foot,  and  neck  to  neck.  If  a  disposition  to  complain,  or  to  grieve, 
was  manifested  by  any  of  them,  the  mouths  of  such  were  instantly 
stopped  with  a  gag.  If,  notwithstanding  this,  the  overflowings 
of  sorrow  found  a  passage  through  other  channels,  they  were 
checked  by  the  ‘  scourge  inexorable  —  the  cruel  monsters  thus 
endeavoring  to  lessen  the  appearance  of  pain,  by  increasing  its 
reality.  These  were  scenes  of  ordinary  occurrence ;  troops  of 
these  poor  slaves  were  continually  seen  fettered  as  before 
described,  marching  two  and  two,  with  commanders  before  and 
behind,  swords  by  their  sides,  and  pistols  in  their  belts  —  the  tri¬ 
umphant  victors  over  unarmed  women  and  children.  The  suffer¬ 
ings  of  their  victims,  were,  if  possible,  increased,  when  they  were 
compelled  to  stop  for  the  night.  They  were  crowded  in  cellars, 
and  loaded  with  an  additional  number  of  fetters.  On  those 
routes  usually  taken  by  them  to  the  South,  stated  taverns  were 
selected  as  their  resting  places  for  the  night.  In  these,  dungeons 
under  ground  were  specially  contrived  for  their  reception.  Iron 
staples,  with  rings  in  them,  were  fixed  at  proper  places  in  the 
walls ;  to  these,  chains  were  welded ;  and  to  these  chains  the 
fetters  of  the  prisoners  were  locked,  as  the  means  of  certain 
safety.  It  was  usual  every  day  for  these  slave-drivers  to  keep  a 


B 


XIV 


APPENDIX  D. 


strict  record  of  the  imagined  offences  of  their  slaves ;  which,  if 
not  to  their  satisfaction  expiated  by  suffering  during  the  day, 
remained  upon  the  register  until  its  close  ;  when,  in  the  midst  of 
midnight  dungeon  horrors,  goaded  with  a  weight  of  fetters,  in 
addition  to  those  which  had  galled  them  during  their  weary 
march,  these  reputed  sins  were  atoned  by  their  blood,  which  was 
made  to  trickle  down  ‘the  scourge  with  triple  thongs.’  ” 

Such  was  the  evil  with  which  Elisha  Tyson,  when  “  young, 
solitary,  and  friendless,”  undertook  to  grapple  ;  the  means  he 
chiefly  employed,  were  such  as  tended  to  purify  and  enlighten 
public  opinion. 

“  He  had  two  principal  modes  of  operating  upon  the  public 
mind  ;  by  conversation  in  public  and  private  places,  and  by  the 
press.  Through  the  means  of  the  first,  he  worked  upon  the  feel¬ 
ings  and  sentiments  of  the  higher  and  more  influential  classes; 
by  means  of  the  latter,  he  influenced  in  a  great  degree,  the  mass 
of  the  community.  In  private  conversation,  his  arguments  were 
so  cogent,  his  appeals  so  energetic,  and  his  manner  so  sincere 
and  disinterested,  that  few  could  avoid  conviction.  It  is  true, 
indeed,  as  it  regards  the  press,  that  he  did  not  publish  very 
much  of  his  own  composing ;  but  he  procured  the  publication  of  a 
vast  deal  of  his  own  dictating.  By  his  arguments  and  entreaties, 
he  aroused  the  zeal  of  many  individuals,  each  of  whom  enlisted 
himself  as  a  kind  of  voluntary  amanuensis,  who  wrote  and  pub¬ 
lished  his  dictations.  Many  important  essays  have  in  this  way 
been  communicated  to  the  public.” 

But  he  undertook  also,  services  requiring  a  yet  sterner  resolu¬ 
tion,  and  more  heroic  perseverance,  services  which  demanded 
that  he  himself  should  be  in  bondage  neither  to  riches,  honor,  nor 
reputation,  since  his  exertions  endangered  all  his  personal  inter¬ 
ests  in  such  a  community  as  that  by  which  he  was  surrounded. 

“Of those  held  in  servitude,  two  classes  of  beings  felt  in  a 
peculiar  manner  the  kindness  and  sympathy  of  Mr.  Tyson  — 
those  entitled  to  their  freedom,  and  illegally  held  in  slavery  — and 
those,  who,  though  not  illegally  kept  in  bondage,  yet  were  treated 
with  inhumanity  by  their  masters. 

“Where  he  had  reason  to  believe  that  a  person  claimed  as  a 
slave  was  entitled  to  his  freedom,  he  would,  in  the  first  place,  in 
order  to  avoid  litigation,  lay  before  the  reputed  owner,  the 


APPENDIX  D. 


XV 


grounds  of  his  belief.  If  these  were  disregarded,  he  then  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  employ  counsel,  by  whom  a  petition  for  freedom  was 
filed  in  the  proper  court,  and  the  case  prosecuted  to  a  final  deter¬ 
mination.  What  excited  most  astonishment  in  these  trials,  was 
the  extraordinary  success  which  attended  him.  Very  few  were 
the  cases  in  which  he  was  defeated;  and  his  failure  even  in  these, 
was  more  generally  owing  to  the  want  of  testimony,  than  to  the 
want  of  justice  on  his  side.  To  enumerate  his  successes,  would 
be  as  impossible,  on  account  of  their  vast  number,  as  it  would  be 
tedious  on  account  of  their  similarity  to  each  other.  Whole  fam¬ 
ilies  were  often  liberated  by  a  single  verdict,  the  fate  of  one 
relative  deciding  the  fate  of  many.  And  often  ancestors,  after 
passing  a  long  life  in  illegal  slavery,  sprung  at  last,  like  the 
chrysalis  in  autumn,  into  new  existence,  beneath  the  genial  rays 
of  the  sun  of  liberty,  which  shed  at  the  same  time  its  benign 
influence  upon  their  children,  and  children’s  children. 

“  The  titles  of  the  individuals,  thus  liberated,  to  their  freedom, 
were  variously  derived.  Sometimes  from  deeds  of  manumission, 
long  suppressed,  and  at  last  brought  to  light,  by  the  searching 
scrutiny  of  Tyson — sometimes  from  the  genealogy  of  the  peti¬ 
tioner,  traced  by  him  to  some  Indian  or  white  maternal  ancestor  — 
sometimes  from  the  right  to  freedom,  claimed  by  birth,  but 
attempted  to  be  destroyed  by  the  rapacity  of  some  vile  kidnapper, 
and  sometimes  from  the  violation  of  those  of  our  laws  which 
manumitted  slaves  imported  from  foreign  parts. 

“  The  labors  of  Mr.  Tyson,  were  not  confined  to  a  single 
district — they  extended  over  the  whole  of  Maryland.  There  is 
not  a  county  in  it,  which  has  not  felt  his  influence,  or  a  court  of 
justice,  whose  records  do  not  bear  proud  testimonials  of  his  tri¬ 
umphs  over  tyranny.  Throwing  out  of  calculation  the  many 
liberations  indirectly  resulting  from  his  efforts,  we  speak  more 
than  barely  within  bounds,  when  we  say,  that  he  has  been  the 
means,  under  Providence,  of  rescuing  at  least  two  thousand 
human  beings  from  the  galling  yoke  of  a  slavery,  which,  but  for 
him,  would  have  been  perpetual. 

“  And  here  let  me  join  my  readers  in  expressions  of  wonder 
and  astonishment  at  this  extraordinary  display  of  human  benevo¬ 
lence,  in  the  person  of  a  single  individual  —  unsupported  by 


XVI 


APPENDIX  D. 


power,  wealth,  or  title,  beneath  the  frowns  of  society,  and  against 
a  torrent  of  prejudice.” 

In  the  year  1789  an  “Abolition  Society,”  (see  antecedent 
pages  23  and  24,)  was  formed  in  Baltimore,  of  which  Elisha 
Tyson  was  a  member  until  its  dissolution,  seven  years  after¬ 
wards. 

“  From  that  time,  Mr.  Tyson  supported  alone  the  cause  of 
emancipation  in  Maryland.  Alone,  I  mean,  as  the  sole  director 
and  prime  mover  of  the  machinery  by  which  that  cause  was 
maintained.  Assisted,  he  was,  no  doubt,  from  time  to  time  ;  but 
that  assistance  was  procured  through  his  influence,  or  rendered 
effectual  under  his  inspection  and  advice.  * 

“The  slave  traffic  gave  rise  to  an  evil  still  greater  —  I  mean 
the  crime  of  kidnapping.  If  the  horrors  arising  from  the  first 
were  so  great  as  I  have  described  them,  how  shall  I  depict  those 
of  the  other!  Slaves  only  were  the  victims  of  the  slave  trade. 
In  passing  from  hand  to  hand,  they  merely  exchanged  one  condi¬ 
tion  of  slavery  for  another.  And  though  on  such  occasions  they 
fell  from  a  less  degree  of  misery  into  a  greater,  they  could  not 
number  among  their  privations  any  thing  so  bitter  as  the  loss  of 
liberty.  It  was  this  that  made  the  difference  betwepn  them  and 
the  victims  of  the  kidnapper ;  not  that  they  laid  their  hands  ex¬ 
clusively  upon  the  freeman,  for  sometimes  their  rapacity  seized 
upon  a  slave.  But  this  was  very  seldom,  for  the  vigilance  of 
slave  owners  was  always  alive  to  detect,  and  their  vengeance  to 
punish  such  daring  felony.  In  almost  all  cases  of  man  stealing, 
the  stolen  beings  were  of  those  who  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  lib¬ 
erty.  To  the  kidnapper,  who  made  these  his  prey,  there  were 
great  facilities  for  escaping  with  impunity  ;  not  only  because,  in 
the  depth  and  darkness  of  a  dungeon,  his  limbs  loaded  with  fet¬ 
ters,  and  utterance  choked  with  a  gag,  his  suffering  could  not  be 
made  visible  or  audible,  but  also  because  the  deadness  of  sensi¬ 
bility  on  this  subject,  which  still  pervaded  the  public,  though  in  a 
less  degree  than  formerly,  seemed  to  have  unnerved  every  eye 

*  “  One  of  the  most  active  assistants  was  his  brother  Jesse,  much  younger 
than  Elisha.  He  followed  him  to  this  State  a  few  years  after  the  arrival  of 
the  latter,  was  an  active  member  of  the  Abolition  Society,  and  continued, 
to  the  day  of  his  death,  to  co-operate  with  Elisha.” 


APPENDIX  D. 


XVil 


and  palsied  every  ear.  Sights  of  misery  passed  darkly  before  the 
one  and  sounds  of  wo  fell  lifeless  on  the  other. 

“  On  one  occasion  Mr.  Tyson  received  intelligence  that  three 
colored  persons,  supposed  to  have  been  kidnapped,  had  been  seen 
under  suspicious  circumstances,  late  in  the  evening,  with  a  noto¬ 
rious  slave-trader,  in  a  carriage,  which  was  then  moving  rapidly 
towards  a  quarter  of  the  precincts  of  Baltimore  in  which  there 
was  a  den  of  man-hunters.  It  was  late  in  the  day  when  he  re¬ 
ceived  the  information,  which  was  immediately  communicated  to 
the  proper  authorities.  As  the  testimony  otfered  to  these  was 
not,  in  their  opinion,  sufficiently  strong  to  induce  them  to  act  in¬ 
stantaneously,  Mr.  Tyson  was  obliged  to  seek  for  aid  in  other 
quarters.  He  accordingly  requested  certain  individuals,  who  had 
sometimes  lent  him  their  assistance,  to  accompany  him  to  the 
scene  of  suspicion,  in  order  to  obtain,  if  possible,  additional  proof. 
One  after  another  made  excuse,  (some  telling  him  that  the  evi¬ 
dence  was  too  weak  to  justify  any  effort,  and  others  saying  that 
it  would  be  better  to  postpone  the  business  for  the  next  morning,) 
until  Mr.  Tyson  saw  himself  without  the  hope  of  foreign  assist¬ 
ance.  But  he  did  not  yield  or  despair  —  one  hope  yet  remained, 
and  that  rested  on  himself.  Alone  he  determined  to  search  out 
the  den  of  thieves,  to  see  and  judge  for  himself.  If  there  was  no 
foundation  for  his  suspicions,  to  dismiss  them  ;  if  they  were  true, 
to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  civil  power,  for  the  punishment  of  guilt 
and  the  rescue  of  innocence. 

“  So  much  time  had  been  spent  in  receiving  the  excuses  of  his 
friends,  that  it  was  late  at  night  when  he  set  out,  on  foot  and 
without  a  single  weapon  of  defence.  In  the  midst  of  silence  and 
darkness,  he  marched  along  until  he  arrived  at  the  place  of  desti¬ 
nation.  It  was  situated  in  the  very  skirts  of  the  city  —  a  public 
tavern  in  appearance,  but  almost  exclusively  appropriated  to  a 
band  of  slave-traders.  Here  they  conveyed  their  prey,  whether 
stolen  or  purchased ;  here  they  held  their  midnight  orgies,  and 
revelled  in  the  midst  of  misery.  The  keeper  of  this  place  was 
himself  one  of  the  party,  and  therefore  not  very  scrupulous  about 
the  sort  of  victims  his  companions  chose  to  place  beneath  his 
care.  Mr.  Tyson  ascended  the  door-sill,  and,  for  a  moment,  list¬ 
ened,  if  perchance  he  might  hear  the  sounds  of  wo.  Suddenly  a 
loud  laugh  broke  upon  his  ears,  which  was  soon  lost  in  a  chorus 


xviii 


APPENDIX  D. 


of  laughter.  Indignant  at  the  sound,  he  reached  forth  his  hand 
and  rapped  with  his  whole  might.  No  answer  was  received.  He 
rapped  again  —  all  was  silence.  He  then  applied  himself  to  the 
fastening  of  the  door,  and  finding  it  unlocked,  opened  it  and  en¬ 
tered.  Suddenly  four  men  made  their  appearance.  They  had 
been  carousing  around  a  table  which  stood  in  the  centre  of  a 
room,  and  when  a  little  alarmed  by  the  rapping  at  the  door,  they 
had  gone  in  different  directions  to  seize  their  weapons.  Mr. 
Tyson  immediately  recognised  in  the  countenance  of  one  of 
these,  who  appeared  to  be  their  leader,  the  slave-trader  whose 
conduct  had  given  rise  to  the  suspicions  that  had  brought  him 
thither.  Nor  was  it  many  moments  before  the  person  and  char¬ 
acter  of  Mr.  Tyson  became  known. 

“ ‘ I  understand,’  said  he,  ‘  that  there  are  persons  confined  in 
this  place  entitled  to  their  freedom  ?  ’ 

“‘You  have  been  wrongly  informed,’  said  the  leader  of  the 
quartette  ;  ‘  and,  besides,  what  business  is  it  of  yours  ?  ’ 

“  ‘Whether  I  am  wrongly  informed,  ‘said  Mr.  Tyson,  calmly, 
‘  can  be  soon  made  to  appear ;  and  I  hold  it  my  business,  as  it  is 
the  business  of  every  good  man  in  the  community,  to  see  that  all 
doubts  of  this  kind  are  settled !  ’ 

“  ‘  You  shall  advance  no  further,’  rejoined  the  leader,  swearing 
a  tremendous  oath,  and  putting  himself  in  a  menacing  attitude. 

“  With  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  and  with  a  strength  that 
seemed  to  have  been  lent  him  for  the  occasion,  Mr.  Tyson  broke 
through  the  arms  of  his  opponent.  As  he  had  been  repeatedly  at 
this  house  on  similar  errands,  he  knew  the  course  he  should  steer, 
and  made  directly  for  the  door  of  the  dungeon.  There  he  met 
another  of  the  band,  with  a  candle  in  one  hand,  and  in  the  other, 
a  pistol,  which,  having  cocked,  he  presented  full  against  the 
breast  of  Mr.  Tyson,  swearing  that  he  would  shoot  him  if  he 
advanced  a  step  further. 

“  ‘  Shoot  if  thee  dare,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  in  a  voice  of  thunder, 
‘  but  thee  dare  not,  coward  as  thou  art,  for  well  does  thee  know, 
that  the  gallows  would  be  thy  portion.’ 

“  Whether  it  was  the  voice  and  countenance  of  Mr.  Tyson,  or 
the  terror  of  the  word  gallows,  that  affected  the  miscreant,  his 
arm  suddenly  fell,  and  he  stood  as  if  struck  dumb  with  amaze¬ 
ment.  Mr.  Tyson  taking  advantage  of  the  moment,  in  the  twink- 


APPENDIX  D. 


xix 


ling  of  an  eye,  snatched  the  candle  from  the  hand  of  the  kidnap¬ 
per,  entered  the  dungeon  door,  which  was  providentially  unlocked, 
and  descended  into  the  vault  below. 

“There  he  beheld  a  dismal  sight;  six  poor  creatures  chained 
to  each  other  by  links  connected  with  the  prison  wall !  The 
prisoners  shrunk  within  themselves  at  the  sight  of  a  man,  and  one 
of  them  uttered  a  shriek  of  terror,  mistaking  the  character  of 
their  visitor.  He  told  them  that  he  was  their  friend ;  and  his 
name  was  Elisha  Tyson.  That  name  was  enough  for  them,  for 
their  whole  race  had  been  long  taught  to  utter  it.  He  inquired, 
‘  if  any  of  them  were  entitled  to  their  freedom  ?  ’  ‘  Yes,’  said  one, 
‘  these  two  boys  say  that  they  and  their  mother  here  are  free,  but 
she  can’t  speak  to  you,  for  she  is  gagged.’  Mr.  Tyson  approached 
this  woman,  and  found  that  she  was  really  deprived  of  her  utter¬ 
ance.  He  instantly  cut  away  the  band  that  held  in  the  gag,  and 
thus  gave  speech  to  the  dumb.  She  told  her  tale  ;  ‘  she  was 
manumitted  by  a  gentleman  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland ; 
her  sons  were  born  after  her  emancipation,  and  of  course 
free.  She  referred  to  persons  and  papers.  She  had  come  over 
the  Chesapeake  in  a  packet,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  employ¬ 
ment  ;  and  was,  with  her  children,  decoyed  away  immediately  on 
her  arrival,  by  a  person  who  brought  her  to  that  house.  Mr. 
Tyson  told  her  to  be  of  good  comfort,  for  he  would  immediately 
provide  the  means  of  her  rescue.  He  then  left  the  dungeon  and 
ascended  the  stair  way,  when  he  reached  the  scene  of  his  pre¬ 
ceding  contest ;  he  looked  around,  but  saw  no  one  save  the 
keeper  of  the  tavern.  Fearing  that  the  others  had  escaped,  or 
were  about  to  escape,  he  hastened  out  of  the  house,  and  proceed¬ 
ed  with  rapid  strides  in  pursuit  of  a  constable.  He  soon  found 
one  and  entreated  his  assistance.  But  the  officer  refused,  unless 
Mr.  Tyson  would  give  him  a  bond  of  indemnity  against  all  loss 
which  he  might  suffer  by  his  interference.  Mr.  Tyson  complied 
without  hesitation.  The  officer,  after  summoning  assistance,  pro¬ 
ceeded  with  Mr.  Tyson  to  the  scene  of  cruelty.  There  meeting 
with  the  tavern  keeper,  they  compelled  him  to  unlock  the  fetters 
of  the  three  individuals  claiming  their  freedom.  They  then 
searched  the  house  for  the  supposed  kidnappers,  and  found  two 
of  them  in  bed,  whom,  together  with  the  women  and  children, 
they  conveyed  that  night  to  the  jail  of  Baltimore  county,  to  await 


XX 


APPENDIX  D. 


the  decision  of  a  court  of  justice.  The  final  consequence  was, 
the  mother  and  children  were  adjudged  free.  One  of  the  two 
slave-traders,  taken  as  afore-mentioned  in  custody,  was  found 
guilty  of  having  kidnapped  them,  and  was  sentenced  to  the 
Maryland  penitentiary,  for  a  term  of  years. 

44  On  another  occasion,  Mr.  Tyson  having  received  satisfactory 
evidence  that  a  colored  person,  on  board  a  vessel  about  to  sail  for 
New  Orleans,  in  Louisiana,  was  entitled  to  his  freedom,  hastened 
to  his  assistance.  On  reaching  the  wharf,  where  the  vessel  had 
lain,  he  learned  that  she  had  cleared  out  the  day  before,  and  was 
then  lying  at  anchor,  a  mile  down  the  river.  He  immediately 
procured  two  officers  of  the  peace,  with  whom  he  proceeded  in  a 
batteau,  with  a  full  determination  to  board  the  suspected  ship. 

“When  he  arrived  alongside,  he  hailed  the  captain  and  asked 
him  4  whether  such  a  person,  (naming  him,)  having  on  board  ne¬ 
groes  destined  for  the  New  Orleans  market,  was  not  among  the 
number  of  passengers.  Before  the  captain  had  time  to  reply,  the 
passenger  alluded  to,  who  had  overheard  the  question,  stepped  to 
the  side  of  the  vessel,  and  recognising  Mr.  Tyson,  asked  what 
business  he  had  with  him.  ‘  I  understand,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  4  that 
a  colored  person,’  describing  him,  4  now  in  thy  possession,  is  entit¬ 
led  to  his  freedom.’  4  He  is  my  slave,’  said  the  trader ;  4 1  have 
purchased  him  by  a  fair  title,  and  no  man  shall  interfere  between 
him  and  me.’ 

44  ‘If  these  documents  speak  the  truth,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  hold¬ 
ing  certain  papers  in  his  hand,  ‘however  fairly  you  have  pur¬ 
chased  him  he  is  not  your  slave.’  He  then  proceeded  to  read  the 
documents.  At  the  same  time  a  light  breeze  springing  up,  the 
captain  ordered  all  hands  to  hoist  sail  and  be  off.  Mr.  Tyson 
seeing  that  there  was  not  a  minute  to  be  lost,  requested  the  con¬ 
stables  to  go  on  board  with  him  for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  the 
free  man  who  had  been  deprived  of  his  rights.  The  trader  im¬ 
mediately  drew  a  dagger  from  his  belt,  (for  this  sort  of  men  went 
always  armed,)  and  swore  that  4  the  first  man  that  dared  set  his 
foot  upon  the  deck  of  that  ship  was  a  dead  man.’  4  Then  1  will 
be  that  man,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  with  a  firm  voice  and  intrepid 
countenance,  and  sprang  upon  the  deck.  The  trader  stepped 
back  aghast.  The  officers  followed,  and  descended  the  hold  of 
the  ship.  There  they  soon  saw  the  object  of  their  search. 


APPENDIX  D. 


XXI 


Without  any  resistance  being  made  on  the  part  of  a  single  per¬ 
son  on  board,  they  led  their  rescued  prisoner  along  and  safely 
lodged  him  in  the  boat  below.  Then  Mr.  Tyson,  addressing  the 
trader,  said,  ‘  If  you  have  any  lawful  claim  to  this  man,  come  along 
and  try  your  title  ;  if  you  cannot  come,  name  your  agent,  and  1 
will  see  that  justice  is  done  to  all  parties.’  The  trader,  who 
seemed  dumb  with  confusion,  made  no  answer;  and  Mr.  Tyson 
requested  his  boatmen  to  row  off.  Ere  they  had  proceeded  half 
their  distance  from  the  ship,  her  sails  were  spread  and  she  began 
to  ride  down  the  stream.  Had  Mr.  Tyson’s  visit  been  delayed 
half  an  hour  longer,  his  benevolent  exertions  would  have  been  in 
vain. 

“  No  one  appearing  to  dispute  the  right  of  the  colored  man  to 
freedom,  his  freedom  papers  were  given  him  and  he  was  set  at 
liberty. 

“  The  whole  life  of  Mr.  Tyson  was  diversified  by  acts  such  as 
we  have  just  described.  Those  I  have  given  to  the  reader  may 
be  considered  as  specimens  merely,  a  few  examples  out  of  a  vast 
many,  which,  if  they  were  all  repeated,  would  satiate  by  their 
number  and  tire  by  their  uniformity. 

“The  joy  manifested  by  the  poor  creatures  whom  he  thus  res¬ 
cued  from  misery,  on  their  deliverance,  may  be  imagined,  but  can¬ 
not  well  be  described.  Sometimes  it  broke  forth  in  loud  and 
wild  demonstrations ;  sometimes  it  was  deep  and  inexpressible, 
or  expressed  only  by  mingled  tears  of  gratitude  and  ecstacy,  roll¬ 
ing  silently  but  profusely  down  their  wo-worn  cheeks. 

“  Mr.  Tyson,  it  is  remarkable,  would  always  turn  his  eyes  from 
these  manifestations.  He  would  listen  to  no  declarations  of 
thanks.  When  these  were  strongly  pressed  upon  him,  he  would 
usually  exclaim,  ‘Well,  that  will  do  now;  that  is  enough  for  this 
time.’  And  once  when  one  of  these  creatures,  fearful  that  Mr. 
Tyson  would  not  consider  him  sufficiently  grateful,  cried  out, 

‘  Indeed,  master,  I  am  very  thankful,  I  would  die  to  serve  you,’ 
Mr.  Tyson  exclaimed,  ‘  Why,  man,  I  have  only  done  my  duty ;  I 
don’t  want  thy  thanks  ;  ’  and  turned  abruptly  away. 

“  Equalled  only  by  the  delight  of  the  rescued  victims,  was  the 
chagrin  and  vexation  of  the  slave-traders,  when  they  saw  their 
prey  torn  from  their  grasp.  They  cursed  the  law ;  they  cursed 


XXII 


APPENDIX  D. 


its  ministers  ;  but  above  all,  they  invoked  imprecations  upon  the 
head  of  Tyson. 

“  They  swore  that  they  would  murder  him,  that  they  woqld 
fire  his  dwelling  over  his  head,  that  they  would  do  a  thousand 
things,  all  full  of  vengeance.  None  of  these  threats  were  ever 
put  into  execution ;  for  though  a  plot  was  once  laid  to  take  away 
his  life,  fear  dispersed  the  actors  long  before  the  day  of  perform¬ 
ance.  Thus  does  it  always  happen  that  the  wickedest  of  men 
are  also  the  meanest,  and  therefore  the  most  dastardly.  And 
thus  did  the  cowardice  of  Mr.  Tyson’s  enemies  shield  him  from 
the  effects  of  their  enmity.  Nor  did  he  profit  less  by  that  indi¬ 
vidual  fear  of  him  which  these  slave-traders  were  made  to  feel. 
They  feared  him  because  they  deprecated  his  hostility.  In  or¬ 
der,  if  possible,  to  lessen  this  hostility,  they  frequently  became 
informers  on  others  engaged  in  the  same  traffic.  This  they  were 
further  inclined  to  do,  in  consequence  of  the  jealousy  that  sub¬ 
sisted  between  them —  a  jealousy  very  natural  to  competitors  in 
the  same  line  of  business.  It  was  always  a  time  of  exultation 
with  them  when  one  of  their  number  found  his  way  into  the  pen¬ 
itentiary. 

“  It  sometimes  happened  that  Mr.  Tyson  extracted  from  the 
mouths  of  these  monsters,  evidence  which  afterwards  went  to 
criminate  those  who  had  uttered  it.  It  was  usual  with  him  when 
he  could  not  obtain  testimony  against  a  suspected  person,  to  send 
for  such  person  and  interrogate  him.  No  one  refused  his  sum¬ 
mons —  fear  forbade  the  refusal;  and  after  they  had  come,  the 
very  fear  which  brought  them  there  sacrificed  them  to  injured 
humanity.  Sometimes  those  who  came  voluntarily  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  criminating  others,  involved  themselves  in  toils  of  their 
own  weaving ;  where  they  were  no  sooner  seen  by  the  penetrat¬ 
ing  eye  of  Tyson,  than  he  reached  forth  his  hands  and  secured 
his  astonished  prisoner,  before  he  had  a  suspicion  of  his  danger. 

“Mr.  Tyson’s  knowledge  of  the  sort  of  people  with  whom  he 
had  principally  to  deal  was  perfect.  His  quickness  of  perception 
and  self-command  were  also  remarkable.  These  qualifications 
gave  him  an  extraordinary  power  in  the  examinations  just  alluded 
to. 

“  One  evening  the  servant  announced  a  stranger  at  the  door, 


APPENDIX  D. 


xxiii 


who  wished  to  see  Mr.  Tyson  privately.  Mr.  Tyson  requested 
that  he  might  be  asked  into  the  room  where  we  were  then  sitting, 
and  if  further  privacy  were  necessary  he  should  have  it. 

“  When  the  door  opened  and  the  stranger  appeared,  he  was  no 
other  than  the  slave-trader  we  have  just  alluded  to. 

“  ‘Your  humble  servant,’  said  the  man,  casting  off  bis  hat  and 
bowing  profoundly;  ‘I  hope  you  are  well,  sir;  I  have  a  few 
words  for  your  private  ear.’ 

“  ‘Every  one  present  may  be  safely  trusted,’  said  Mr.  Tyson  ; 
‘  but  sit  down.’ 

“  The  man  seated  himself.  ‘Well,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  ‘  what  is 
there  new  in  thy  way  of  business  ;  1  suppose  it  continues  as  usual 
to  be  a  good  business?’ 

“  ‘Ah !  sir,’  said  the  man,  ‘  I  believe  it  to  be  a  bad  business  in 
more  ways  than  one.  I  am  resolved  to  quit  it.’ 

“  ‘  Not  while  thee  can  get  two  hundred  dollars  profit  per  man,’ 
said  Mr.  Tyson. 

“  ‘  Notwithstanding  that,’  said  the  trader,  ‘  it’s  a  bad  business  ; 
it’s  a  hard  business ;  I  must  quit  it,  and  that  very  soon.’ 

“  ‘Hast  thou  heard  of  the  old  saying,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  ‘Hell 
is  paved  with  good  intentions  ?  1  fear,’  said  he,  ‘  when  thee  goes 

there  thee  will  find  thine  among  the  number.’ 

“■  ‘  I  know,’  said  the  trader,  ‘  you  think  me  very  bad ;  but  when 
you  hear  what  I  have  to  communicate,  perhaps  your  opinion  will 
alter  a  little.’ 

“  ‘  I  wish  it  may  ;  but,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  ‘  thy  progress  down 
hill  has  been  so  rapid,  and  thou  hast  got  so  far,  that  thee  will  find 
it  rather  hard  to  turn  about  and  ascend.’ 

“  These  doubtings,  attended  with  a  shrewd,  suspicious,  yet 
satirical  look,  had  the  effect  intended ;  for  the  man  became  doubly 
anxious  to  do  what  he  had  come  to  do,  and  what  he  thought  would 
be  esteemed  a  great  favor  by  Mr.  Tyson.  Accordingly,  after  a 
word  or  two  of  preface,  he  stated  that  he  ‘  had  reason  to  believe 

that  - ’,  naming  a  certain  trader,  ‘  had  kidnapped  two  free 

blacks.’ 

“  ‘  Thee  is  certainly  mistaken,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  affecting  great 
surprise;  ‘it  is  hardly  possible  that  so  worthy  a  man  could  have 
been  guilty  of  so  great  a  crime.’ 


XXIV 


APPENDIX  D. 


“This  apparent  doubt  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Tyson,  made  the 
man  more  anxious  to  bring  out  all  his  testimony. 

“  ‘  But  who  told  thee  this  piece  of  news  ?’  said  Mr.  Tyson. 
There  was  a  breach  at  once  into  the  man’s  order  and  arrange¬ 
ment,  and  he  hesitated  for  a  reply.  ‘  Mr. - ,  Mr. - , 

Mr. - ,  what  do  ye  call  him,  spoke  to  me  about  it.’  ‘  Who  ?  ’ 

said  Mr.  Tyson.  ‘  Mr. - ,’  said  the  man  ;  mentioning  the 

name  of  a  veteran  dealer  in  human  flesh. 

“  ‘  Is  he  engaged  in  the  traffic  now  ?  ’  asked  Mr.  Tyson. 

“  ‘  Yes,  sir  ;  very  deep  in  it.’ 

“  ‘  By  himself,  or  in  partnership  ?  ’  asked  Mr.  Tyson  care¬ 
lessly. 

“  ‘  Why,  1  believe  he  is  in  partnership  with  some  body.’ 

“  ‘  Is  he  not  in  partnership,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  ‘  with - ?  ’ 

naming  the  person  whom  the  man  was  anxious  to  inculpate. 

“  ‘  I  believe  he  was,  but  I  don’t  know  that  he  is  now.’ 

“  ‘  Thee  don’t  know  of  their  having  dissolved  ?  ’  asked  Mr. 
Tyson  at  the  same  time,  as  if  thoughtlessly  lighting  his  pipe. 

“  ‘  No,  I  do  not.  But  as  I  was  going  to  say,’  said  the  trader  — 

“  ‘  Ah,  true,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  ‘  we  must  not  forget.  Thee  was 
talking  about  a  case  of  kidnapping;  well?’ 

“  ‘  Last  night,’  said  the  trader,  ‘  a  hack  drove  up  to  the  tavern 

where  I  lodge.  The  hackman  inquired  the  way  to - ’s 

tavern,  which  is  the  place  of  rendezvous  for - and  his  gang; 

naming  the  person  whose  guilt  seemed  to  be  the  principal  object 
of  inquiry.  ‘  I  looked  into  the  carriage,  and  saw  two  boys.’ 

“  ‘  Did  thee  speak  to  them  ?’ 

“‘No,  they  were  gagged,  and  that  made  me  think  they  were 
kidnapped.’ 

“  ‘  Was  any  body  with  them  ?’ 

“  ‘  Nobody  but  the  driver,  and  he  was  black.’ 

“  ‘  Did  thee  direct  him  as  he  requested  ?’  asked  Mr.  Tyson. 

“‘Yes.’ 

“  ‘  And  they  arrived  accordingly  ?’ 

“‘Yes.’ 

“  ‘  Did  thee  follow  them  ?’ 

“‘No  sir,  not  immediately  —  but  I  went  this  morning,  and 
inquired  whether  a  hack  with  two  boys  and  a  black  driver,  had 
not  arrived  late  last  night,  and  they  said  there  had.’ 


APPENDIX  D. 


XXV 


“  ‘  What  o’clock  last  night  was  it  when  thee  saw  the  carriage  ?  ’ 

“  ‘  About  ten,  sir.’ 

“  ‘  Was  the  hack  close,  or  were  the  curtains  down  ?  ’ 

“  ‘  The  curtains  were  down,  and  that  increased  my  suspicion.’ 

“Mr.  Tyson  had  now  heard  enough  to  convince  him  that  if 
there  was  any  kidnapping  in  this  case,  the  trader  who  stood  be¬ 
fore  him  had  a  much  nearer  connection  with  it  than  that  of  a 
mere  spectator. 

“  He  had  said  in  the  first  place  that  he  obtained  his  know¬ 
ledge  from  a  trader  who  had  been  partner  with  the  party  impli¬ 
cated.  He  then  stated  that  he  derived  it  from  seeing  the  kid¬ 
napped  persons  in  a  hack.  And  though  it  was  ten  o’clock  at 
night,  (at  a  time,  too,  as  Mr.  Tyson  knew,  when  there  was  no 
moon,)  yet  he  could  not  only  see  that  these  two  persons  were  in 
the  hack,  but  that  they  were  gagged.  He  could  not  have  done 
this  by  the  light  of  a  candle  or  the  moon,  because  ‘the  hack 
was  tight,  and  the  curtains  were  down.’ 

“  Fearing  lest  the  suspicions  of  the  trader  might  be  excited  as 
to  the  sentiments  of  Mr.  Tyson  towards  him,  an  end  was  put  to 
the  part  of  the  dialogue  which  related  to  the  kidnapping,  by  say¬ 
ing,  ‘  Well,  I  am  much  obliged  to  thee  for  thy  information;  we’ll 

see  this - ,  and  settle  the  matter  with  him ;  ’  and  then  turned 

the  tide  of  conversation  into  a  different  direction. 

“  The  same  day  Mr.  Tyson  sent  for  the  person  who  was  first 
mentioned  as  the  person  communicating  the  knowledge  of  the 
transaction,  and  asked  him  as  to  the  fact  of  such  communication. 
It  was  positively  denied.  He  had  ‘  not  seen  the  informer  for  six 
weeks,  except  the  last  evening,  when  he  brought  a  hack  load  of 
negroes  to  the  tavern  where  he  and  his  partner  were  lodgers. 

“ ‘Were  two  boys  among  the  number ? ’ 

« ‘  Yes.’ 

“  ‘Were  they  gagged  ?  ’ 

“‘Yes.’ 

“The  moment  this  man  left  his  house,  Mr.  Tyson  went  in 
search  of  bailiffs  and  civil  process.  With  these  he  proceeded  to 
the  place  where  the  two  boys  were  confined,  and  had  them  and 
all  three  of  the  traders  taken  into  custody. 

“It  turned  out  afterwards,  in  the  further  prosecution  of  this 
investigation,  (by  what  testimony  we  do  not  distinctly  recollect,) 
c 


XXVI 


APPENDIX  D. 


that  the  informer  who  first  came  to  Mr.  Tyson  had  himself  kid¬ 
napped  the  two  boys.  He  sold  them  to  the  person  upon  whom 
he  had  endeavored,  in  the  manner  we  have  detailed,  to  affix  the 
whole  crime ;  who,  refusing  afterward  to  pay  their  price,  and  yet 
determined  to  retain  them,  exasperated  the  seller  to  such  a  de¬ 
gree  that  he  resolved  to  sacrifice  him;  in  attempting  which  he 
sacrificed  himself,  for  he  was  afterward  convicted  and  sentenced 
to  the  penitentiary. 

“  During  the  progress  of  any  investigation  originated  by  Mr. 
Tyson  in  behalf  of  individual  freedom,  his  anxiety  about  the  final 
issue,  though  concealed  from  the  world,  burned  with  intensity. 
His  days  were  restless,  his  nights  were  sleepless,  and  himself, 
except  when  in  company,  which  he  avoided  at  those  times,  lost  in 
the  abstractions  of  hope  or  of  despondency. 

“When  he  succeeded,  his  joy  was  strong,  but  invisible  or  in¬ 
audible,  save  to  the  Father  of  all  mercies.  To  him  he  never 
failed  ‘to  pour  out  his  soul’  in  pious  thanksgivings  for  that  he 
made  him  a  humble  instrument  in  the  restoration  of  a  fellow 
being  to  light  and  liberty. 

“  When  he  failed,  which  was  seldom,  after  he  had  seriously 
undertaken  a  case,  his  sorrow  Avas  equally  great,  and  as  inscruta¬ 
ble  to  human  observation,  excepting  that  of  the  unfortunate  ob¬ 
jects  of  his  care,  who  saw  him  mingling  tears  of  sympathy  with 
theirs  of  suffering. 

“Though  Mr.  Tyson  seldom  failed  in  those  cases  which  he 
had  commenced  in  legal  form,  yet  very  many  persons  were  turned 
hopelessly  away  whose  cases  were  too  groundless  for  adjudica¬ 
tion ;  and  often  those  who  knew  they  had  no  cause  for  hope, — 
condemned  to  be  torn  from  their  connections  and  sold,  as  if  to 
death,  never  to  be  heard  of  more,  —  would  call  merely  to  obtain 
his  sympathies,  as  if  the  universe  had  no  other  friend  for  them. 

“A  man  who  lived  with  his  master,  in  Anne  Arundel  county, 
came  late  one  evening  to  Mr.  Tyson,  and  begged  that  he  would 
listen  to  his  case.  His  master  had  promised  him  his  freedom, 
provided  he  would  raise  and  pay  him  the  sum  of  five  hundred 
dollars  in  six  years ;  and  he  had  earned  half  of  the  money,  which 
he  had  given  bis  master.  The  six  years  were  not  expired,  yet  he 
was  about  to  be  sold  to  Georgia.  Mr.  Tyson  asked  if  ‘there  was 
Any  receipt  for  the  money.’  ‘No.’  ‘Was  there  any  witness  who 


APPENDIX  D. 


xxvii 


could  prove  its  payment?’  ‘Nobody  but  his  master’s  wife.’ 
‘Then,’  said  Mr.  Tyson,  ‘the  law  is  against  thee,  and  thou  must 
submit  I  can  do  nothing  for  thee.’  Never,  said  Mr.  Tyson, 
when  relating  this  story,  shall  I  forget  the  desperate  resolution 
which  showed  itself  in  the  countenance  and  manner  of  this  man 
when  he  said,  with  clenched  fist,  his  eyes  raised  to  Heaven,  his 
whole  frame  bursting  with  the  purpose  of  his  soul,  while  a  smile 
of  triumph  played  around  his  lips,  ‘  I  will  die  before  the  Georgia 
man  shall  have  me.’  And  then  suddenly  melting  into  a  flood  of 
tears,  he  said,  ‘  1  cannot  live  away  from  my  wife  and  children.’ 
After  this  poor  fellow  had  left  me,  said  Mr.  Tyson,  I  said  to  a 
person  present,  ‘That  is  no  common  man;  he  will  do  what  he 
has  resolved.’ 

“A  short  time  afterwards,  the  remains  of  a  colored  person  who 
had  been  drowned  in  the  basin  at  Baltimore  were  discovered. 
The  fact  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  Mr.  Tyson,  he  went  to  see 
the  body,  and  recognized  in  its  features  and  from  its  dress,  the 
remains  of  the  unfortunate  man  who,  a  short  time  before,  had 
breathed  the  dreadful  resolution  in  his  presence.” 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  memorials  which  this  friend  of  the  hu¬ 
man  rice  has  left  behind  him.  He  was  not  less  persevering,  and 
scarcely  less  successful  in  his  endeavors  to  obtain  the  mitigation 
of  the  slave  laws  in  Maryland.  Some  of  the  most  repulsive  of 
these  were  repealed  or  altered,  particularly  those  restricting  man¬ 
umissions.  Thus  the  condition  and  the  prospects  of  the  whole 
body  of  slaves  was  improved,  in  addition  to  more  than  two  thou¬ 
sand  delivered  by  his  immediate  instrumentality  from  illegal 
bondage.  Hundreds  of  free  and  happy  families  have  cause  at 
this  day  to  bless  the  memory  of  “  Father  Tyson.” 

He  also  deeply  interested  himself  on  behalf  of  the  Indian 
tribes ;  and  once  in  company  with  another  individual,  as  a  depu¬ 
tation  from  the  Society  of  Friends  in  Baltimore,  undertook  a  dan¬ 
gerous  journey  to  visit  several  tribes  1000  miles  distant,  to  the 
north-west  of  the  Ohio.  The  main  object  of  the  mission  was  to 
induce  the  Indians  to  refrain  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  —  of 
whose  destructive  effects  the  chiefs  were  themselves  fully  sensi¬ 
ble.  The  following  affecting  address  was  made  to  an  assembly 
of  “  Friends  ”  in  Baltimore,  by  Little  Turtle,  a  chief  famous  for 
courage,  sagacity  and  eloquence : 


XXV111 


APPENDIX  D. 


“Brothers  and  Friends:  —  When  our  forefathers  first  met  on 
this  great  Island,  your  red  brethren  were  very  numerous  !  But 
since  the  introduction  among  us  of  what  you  call  spirituous 
liquors,  and  what  we  think  may  justly  be  called  poison,  our  num¬ 
bers  are  greatly  diminished.  It  has  destroyed  a  great  part  of 
your  red  brethren. 

“My  Brothers  and  Friends: — We  plainly  perceive,  that  you 
see  the  very  evil  which  destroyed  your  red  brethren  ;  it  is  not  an 
evil  of  our  own  making ;  we  have  not  placed  it  among  ourselves  ; 
it  is  an  evil  placed  among  us  by  the  white  people  ;  we  look  to 
them  to  remove  it  out  of  our  country.  We  tell  them,  ‘  Brethren, 
bring  us  useful  things  ;  bring  goods  that  will  clothe  us,  our  wo¬ 
men  and  our  children ;  and  not  this  evil  liquor,  that  destroys  our 
reason,  that  destroys  our  health,  and  destroys  our  lives.’  But  all 
we  can  say  on  this  subject  is  of  no  service,  nor  gives  relief  to 
your  red  brethren. 

“  My  Brother  and  Friends :  —  I  rejoice  to  find  that  you  agree  in 
opinion  with  us,  and  express  an  anxiety  to  be,  if  possible,  of  ser¬ 
vice  to  us,  in  removing  this  great  evil  out  of  our  country  ;  an  evil 
which  has  had  so  much  room  in  it ;  and  has  destroyed  so  many  of 
our  lives,  that  it  causes  our  young  men  to  say,  ‘  we  had  better  be 
at  war  with  the  white  people.’  This  liquor,  which  they  introduce 
into  our  country,  is  more  to  be  feared  than  the  gun  and  the  toma¬ 
hawk.  There  are  more  of  us  dead,  since  the  treaty  of  Greenville, 
than  we  lost  by  the  six  years  war  before.  It  is  all  owing  to  the 
introduction  of  this  liquor  amongst  us. 

“Brothers:  —  When  our  young  men  have  been  out  hunting, 
and  are  returning  home,  loaded  with  skins  and  furs,  on  their  way 
if  it  happens  that  they  come  along  where  some  of  this  whiskey 
is  deposited,  the  white  man  who  sells  it,  tells  them  to  take  a  little 
drink ;  some  of  them  will  say  4  no,  I  do  not  want  it ;’  they  go  on 
till  they  come  to  another  house,  where  they  find  more  of  the  same 
kind  of  drink ;  it  is  there  offered  again ;  they  refuse  ;  and  again 
the  third  time.  But  finally,  the  fourth  or  fifth  time,  one  accepts 
of  it  and  takes  a  drink ;  and  getting  one,  he  wants  another ;  and 
then  a  third,  and  a  fourth,  till  his  senses  have  left  him.  After  his 
reason  comes  back  to  him  again,  when  he  gets  up  and  finds  where 
he  is,  he  asks  for  his  peltry.  The  answer  is,  { You  have  drank 
them.’  ‘Where  is  my  gun?’  ‘It  is  gone?’  ‘Where  is  my 


APPENDIX  D. 


XXIX 


blanket?’  ‘  It  is  gone.’  ‘Where  is  my  shirt?’  ‘  You  have  sold 
it  for  whiskey ! !  ’  Now,  Brothers,  figure  to  yourselves,  the  con¬ 
dition  of  this  man.  He  has  a  family  at  home  ;  a  wife  and  chil¬ 
dren,  who  stand  in  need  of  the  profits  of  his  hunting.  What 
must  be  their  wants,  when  he  himself  is  even  without  a  shirt?  ” 

The  journey  of  Elisha  Tyson  and  his  companion,  James  Gil¬ 
lingham,  occurred  a  few  years  subsequent  to  the  interview  at 
which  the  preceding  speech  was  made.  They  met  a  council  of 
the  Indians  at  Fort  Wayne,  whom  Elisha  Tyson  addressed  to  the 
following  effect : 

“  He  painted  in  glowing  colors  the  dreadful  effects  of  intem¬ 
perance —  both  upon  civilized  and  savage  life  —  told  them  that 
they  must  resolve  to  abstain  entirely  from  it.  If  they  admitted  it 
at  all  among  them,  it  would  soon  conquer  them,  and  reduce  them 
to  a  condition  worse  than  that  of  the  brute  creation.  That  not 
until  they  abandoned  altogether  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  would 
they  be  fit  subjects  for  civilization.  If  they  were  ready  to  do  this 
he  would  then  unfold  to  them  the  blessings  of  civilization  —  the 
superiority  of  such  a  condition  over  the  one  in  which  they  then 
subsisted.  He  traced  their  history  from  the  earliest  period  to  the 
present  time  —  shewed  them  how,  as  the  white  population  had  ex¬ 
panded  itself,  they  had  retreated  into  the  western  wilderness  — 
that  if  they  did  not  remain,  but  continued  to  retreat,  in  a  few 
years  they  would  have  no  territory  upon  this  continent.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  their  permanent  establishment,  he  recommended  to 
them  the  practice  of  agriculture,  as  a  substitute  for  hunting. 
He  advised  them  to  mark  out  their  lands,  and  ask  advice  of  the 
agents  established  by  the  Society  of  Friends  among  them,  with 
respect  to  their  cultivation.  They  stood  ready,  not  only  with  their 
advice,  but  with  their  assistance ;  they  were  furnished  for  their 
use  with  all  the  necessary  implements  of  husbandry,  with  beasts 
of  the  plough  also,  and  beasts  of  burden. 

“  They  had  come  a  great  distance,  endured  much  privation 
and  fatigue  in  order  to  see  them,  and  must  endure  a  great  deal 
more  before  they  could  again  behold  their  wives  and  their  chil¬ 
dren.  But  they  could  bear  it  all  with  patience,  nay  with  joy,  if 
they  could  only  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them  adopt  the 
disinterested  advice  which  he  had  thus  given  them.” 


XXX 


APPENDIX  D. 


The  following  is  one  of  the  speeches  made  in  reply,  by  White 
Loon,  an  influential  chief: 

“Brothers:  —  Ever  since  your  great  father  Onas,  (William 
Penn,)  came  upon  this  great  island,  the  Quakers  have  been  the 
friends  of  red  men.  They  have  proved  themselves  worthy  of 
being  the  descendants  of  their  great  father.  And  now,  when  all 
the  whites  have  forgotten  that  they  owe  any  thing  to  us,  the  Qua¬ 
kers  of  Baltimore,  though  so  far  distant  from  us,  have  remembered 
the  distressed  condition  of  their  red  brethren,  and  interceded 
with  the  Great  Spirit  in  our  behalf. 

“Brothers:  —  You  have  travelled  very  far  to  see  us  —  you 
have  climbed  over  mountains  —  you  have  swam  over  deep  and 
rapid  torrents  —  you  have  endured  cold,  and  hunger,  and  fatigue, 
in  order  that  you  might  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  your  red 
brethren.  For  this,  so  long  as  life  exists  within  us,  we  shall  be 
very  grateful. 

“  Brothers :  — That  wide  region  of  country  over  which  you 
have  passed,  was  once  filled  with  red  men.  Then  was  there  a 
plenty  of  deer  and  buffalo,  and  all  kinds  of  game.  But  the  white 
people  came  from  beyond  the  great  water ;  they  landed  in  multi¬ 
tudes  on  our  shores;  they  cut  down  our  forests  ;  they  drove  our 
warriors  before  them,  and  frightened  the  wild  herds,  so  that  they 
sought  security  in  the  deep  shades  of  the  west. 

“  Brothers :  —  These  white  men  were  not  your  grandfathers  ; 
for,  as  I  said  before,  the  sons  of  Onas  were  always  the  friends  of 
red  men. 

“  Brothers :  —  The  whites  are  still  advancing  upon  us.  They 
have  reached  our  territory,  and  have  built  their  wigwams  within 
our  very  hunting  grounds.  Our  game  is  vanishing  away. 

“  Brothers :  —  Formerly  our  huqters  pursued  the  wild  deer, 
and  the  buffalo,  and  the  bear ;  and  when  they  killed  them  they 
ate  their  flesh  for  food,  and  used  their  skins  as  covering  for  them¬ 
selves,  their  old  men,  their  women,  and  their  children.  But  now, 
they  kill  them  that  they  may  have  plenty  of  skins  and  furs  to  sell 
to  the  white  men.  The  consequence  of  this  is,  the  game  is  de¬ 
stroyed  wantonly,  and  faster  than  our  necessities  require. 

“Brothers:  —  We  would  not  mind  all  this,  provided  these 
skins  and  furs  were  exchanged  for  useful  articles  —  for  imple¬ 
ments  of  husbandry,  or  clothes  for  our  old  men,  our  women,  and 


APPENDIX  D. 


XXXI 


our  children.  But  they  are  too  often  bartered  away  for  whiskey, 
that  vile  poison,  which  has  sunk  even  Wapakee  into  the  dust. 

“Brothers:  —  We  shall  soon  be  under  the  necessity  either  of 
leaving  our  hunting  grounds  or  of  converting  them  into  pastures 
and  fields  of  corn.  Under  the  kind  assistance  of  our  brothers,  the 
Quakers,  we  have  already  proceeded  a  great  way.  You  have 
witnessed,  as  you  have  passed  among  us,  the  good  effects  of  the 
kindness  of  our  brothers.  We  are  disposed  to  go  on  as  we  have 
begun,  until  our  habits  and  manners,  as  well  as  the  face  of  our 
country,  shall  be  changed  and  look  like  those  of  the  white  people. 

“Brothers:  —  Accept  from  us  this  belt  of  wampum  and  pipe 
of  peace.  And  may  the  Great  Sasteretsy,  who  conducted  you 
here  in  safety,  still  go  with  you  and  restore  you  in  peace  and 
happiness  to  the  arms  of  your  women  and  children.” 

After  this,  with  ceremonies  such  as  those  already  described, 
but,  if  possible,  accompanied  with  more  solemnity,  the  chiefs  dis¬ 
solved  the  council. 

It  is  a  melancholy  reflection,  that  soon  such  memorials  as 
these  will  be  the  only  remains  of  that  noble  but  unfortunate  race 
who  once  peopled  the  continent  of  North  America.  War  has 
slain  its  thousands,  but  alcohol  its  tens  of  thousands  ;  and  the  for¬ 
titude  which  could  bear  without  shrinking  the  most  cruel  inflic¬ 
tions  of  torture,  has  proved  powerless  to  resist  the  seductions  of 
strong  drink.  It  is  to  be  feared  a  heavy  retribution  awaits  the 
white  man,  the  pitiless  author  of  their  extermination. 

The  biographer  of  E.  Tyson  has  taken  great  pains  to  repre- 
resent  him  as  a  friend  to  the  Colonization  Society,  but  in  this 
respect  I  am  informed,  by  one  who  well  knew  him,  he  has  done 
him  great  injustice.  It  is  confessed,  indeed,  that  for  a  long  period 
E.  Tyson  viewed  this  scheme  with  great  jealousy.  “  When  we 
saw,”  remarks  this  writer,  “domestic  tyrants,  and  men  who  had 
actually,  in  the  southern  slave-trade,  speculated  in  the  flesh  and 
blood  of  their  fellow  creatures,  united  with  their  betters  in  a  so¬ 
ciety,  the  professed  object  of  which  was  the  peopling  of  a  conti¬ 
nent  with  freemen  by  the  depopulation  of  a  continent  of  slaves, 
he  argued,  as  he  had  a  right  to  argue,  mischief  to  the  cause.” 
No  evidence  is  adduced  to  show  that  this  same  distrust  of  the 
Colonization  Society  was  ever  removed,  beyond  the  fact  that, 
having  been  the  means  of  liberating  eleven  native  Africans  from 


xxxii 


APPENDIX  D. 


a  slave-ship,  he  cooperated  with  Gen.  Harper,  an  influential  colo- 
nizationist,  in  restoring  them  to  their  native  country,  which  bor¬ 
dered  upon  the  colony  of  Liberia.  This  was  the  last  public  act 
of  his  life. 

“The  great  concern  in  which  he  had  spent  his  life  was  the 
constant  topic  of  his  conversation  ;  and  he  continued  with  his 
latest  breath  to  enforce  the  claims  of  the  unhappy  sons  of  slavery 
upon  the  humanity  of  their  brethren.  It  was  natural  that  he 
should  feel  a  strong  anxiety  about  the  fate  of  those  who,  through 
his  exertions,  had  been  restored  to  their  friends  in  Africa.  He 
was  on  the  alert  to  hear  intelligence  of  their  fate  —  his  spirit 
seemed  to  follow  them  across  the  mighty  waters.  On  one  occa¬ 
sion  he  was  heard  to  say,  ‘  If  I  could  only  hear  of  their  safe  arri¬ 
val  I  should  die  content;’  and  on  another,  that  he  ‘had  prayed 
to  the  Father  of  Mercies  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  spare  his 
life  until  he  could  receive  the  pleasing  intelligence.’  His  prayer 
was  heard.  The  news  reached  his  ears  amid  the  last  lingerings 
of  life.  He  shed  tears  of  joy  on  the  occasion  ;  and  when  he  had 
sufficiently  yielded  to  the  first  burst  of  feeling,  exclaimed,  like 
one  satiated  with  earthly  happiness,  ‘Now  I  am  ready  to  die  ;  my 
work  is  done.’  His  expressions  were  prophetic ;  for  in  the  short 
space  of  forty-eight  hours,  on  the  16th  of  February,  1824,  at  the 
age  of  75  years,  he  breathed  his  soul  into  the  hands  of  God  Al¬ 
mighty.” 

The  following  are  some  notices  of  his  personal  appearance 
and  mental  characteristics : 

“The  person  of  Mr.  Tyson  was  about  six  feet  in  height, 
though  the  habit  of  leaning  forward  as  he  walked,  gave  a  less 
appearance  to  his  stature.  The  rest  of  his  frame  was  suited  to 
his  height. 

“The  features  of  his  countenance  were  strong.  His  forehead 
was  high ;  his  nose  large,  and  of  the  Roman  order ;  his  eyes 
were  dark  and  piercing ;  his  lips  so  singularly  expressive,  that 
even  in  their  stillest  mood  they  would  almost  seem  to  be  uttering 
the  purposes  of  his  mind.  Indeed  his  whole  face  was  indicative, 
to  a  striking  degree,  of  the  passions  and  feelings  of  his  soul. 

“  The  mind  of  Mr.  Tyson  was  strong,  rather  than  brilliant. 
With  scarcely  any  imagination,  he  possessed  a  judgment  almost 
infallible  in  its  decisions ;  great  powers  of  reason,  which  were 


APPENDIX  E. 


XXX111 


more  conspicuous  for  the  certainty  of  its  conclusions  than  remark¬ 
able  for  displaying  the  train  of  inferences  by  which  it  arrived  at 
them.  He  possessed  wonderful  acuteness  of  understanding, 
quickness  of  perception,  and  readiness  of  reply. 

“  For  these  qualities  he  was  indebted  more  to  nature  than  to 
art.  He  was  not  educated  for  the  exalted  station  of  a  philanthro¬ 
pist,  but  for  the  business  of  the  world  ;  and  yet  he  seemed  fitted 
exactly  for  the  part  he  acted.  He  possessed  not  the  refinements 
of  education ;  he  had  not  learned  to  soar  into  the  regions  of  fan¬ 
cy,  his  destiny  was  upon  the  earth;  and  he  knew  no  flight  but 
that  which  bears  the  soul  to  heaven.” 


Appendix  E.  p.  68. 

THE  “AMISTAD  CAPTIVES  ” 

The  following  statements  are  drawn  from  a  “  History  of  the 
Amistad  Captives,  &c.,  by  John  W.  Barber,  member  of  the  Con¬ 
necticut  Historical  Society ;  ”  from  the  authentic  reports  of  the 
proceedings  in  the  courts  of  law,  and  from  a  letter  of  my  friend, 
Lewis  Tappan,  to  the  public  papers. 

“  During  the  month  of  August,  1839,  the  public  attention  was 
somewhat  excited  by  several  reports  stating  that  a  vessel  of  sus¬ 
picious  and  piratical  character  had  been  seen  near  the  coast  of 
the  United  States,  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York.  This  vessel  was 
represented  as  a  ‘long,  low,  black  schooner,’  and  manned  by 
blacks.  The  United  States  steamer  Fulton  and  several  revenue 
cutters  were  despatched  after  her,  and  notice  was  given  to  the 
collectors  at  various  sea  ports.” 

This  suspicious  looking  schooner  proved  to  be  the  “Amistad,” 
which  was  eventually  captured  off  Culloden  Point,  by  Lieut.  Ged- 
ney,  of  the  U.  S.  brig  “Washington.”  At  this  time,  however, 
the  Africans,  who  were  in  possession  of  the  vessel,  were  in  com¬ 
munication  with  the  shore,  and  peaceably  trafficking  with  the  in¬ 
habitants  for  a  supply  of  water  for  their  intended  voyage  to  their 
own  country.  They  had  spontaneously  submitted  to  the  com¬ 
mand  of  one  of  their  number,  Cinque,  a  man  of  extraordinary 


XXXIV 


APPENDIX  E. 


natural  capacity.  When  they  were  taken,  he  was  separated  from 
his  companions  and  conveyed  on  board  the  brig. 

“  Cinque  having  been  put  on  board  of  the  ‘Washington,’  dis¬ 
played  much  uneasiness,  and  seemed  so  very  anxious  to  get  on 
board  the  schooner  that  his  keepers  allowed  him  to  return.  Once 
more  on  the  deck  of  the  ‘Amistad,’  the  blacks  clustered  around 
him,  laughing,  screaming,  and  making  other  extravagant  demon¬ 
strations  of  joy.  When  the  noise  had  subsided,  he  made  an  ad¬ 
dress,  which  raised  their  excitement  to  such  a  pitch,  that  the 
officer  in  command  had  Cinque  led  away  by  force.  He  was 
returned  to  the  ‘Washington,’  and  was  manacled  to  prevent  his 
leaping  overboard.  On  Wednesday,  he  signified  by  motions  that 
if  they  would  take  him  on  board  the  schooner  again,  he  would 
show  them  a  handkerchief  full  of  doubloons.  He  was  accord¬ 
ingly  sent  on  board.  His  fetters  were  taken  off,  and  he  once 
more  went  below,  where  he  was  received  by  the  Africans  in  a 
still  more  wild  and  enthusiastic  manner  than  he  was  the  day  pre¬ 
vious.  Instead  of  finding  the  doubloons,  he  again  made  an  ad¬ 
dress  to  the  blacks,  by  which  they  were  very  much  excited. 
Dangerous  consequences  Avere  apprehended.  Cinque  was  seized, 
taken  from  the  hold,  and  again  fettered.  While  making  his 
speech,  his  eye  was  often  turned  to  the  sailors  in  charge :  the 
blacks  yelled,  leapt  about,  and  seemed  to  be  animated  with  the 
same  spirit  and  determination  of  their  leader.  Cinque,  when 
taken  back  to  the  ‘Washington,’  evinced  little  or  no  emotion,  but 
kept  his  eye  steadily  fixed  on  the  schooner.” 

An  event  so  extraordinary  and  unprecedented  as  the  capture 
of  the  “Amistad,”  excited  the  most  lively  interest  among  all 
classes.  The  Africans,  forty-four  in  number,  were  brought  to 
NeAv  Haven  and  secured  in  the  county  jail.  A  number  of  gen¬ 
tlemen  formed  themselves  into  a  committee  to  watch  over  their 
interests,  and  immediately  there  Avas  begun  a  long  and  compli¬ 
cated  series  of  judicial  proceedings,  to  determine  hoAv  they 
should  be  disposed  of.  Ruiz  and  Montez,  the  two  white  men, 
late  the  prisoners,  but  claiming  to  be  the  owners  of  the  Africans, 
caused  them  to  be  indicted  for  piracy  and  murder.  This  was 
almost  immediately  disposed  of,  on  the  ground  that  the  charges, 
if  true,  Avere  not  cognizable  in  the  American  courts,  the  alleged 
offences  having  been  perpetrated  on  board  a  Spanish  vessel. 


APPENDIX  E. 


XXXV 


The  Africans  therefore  were  in  no  immediate  danger  of  capital 
punishment.  Ruiz  and  Montez  on  their  part  seem  to  have  met 
with  sympathy  and  kindness,  and  to  testify  their  gratitude  caused 
the  following  to  be  inserted  in  the  New  York  papers: 

“A  CARD. 

“New  London,  August  29,  1839. 

“  The  subscribers,  Don  Jose  Ruiz,  and  Don  Pedro  Montez,  in 
gratitude  for  their  most  unhoped  for  and  providential  rescue  from 
the  hands  of  a  ruthless  gang  of  African  bucaneers  and  an  awful 
death,  would  take  this  means  of  expressing,  in  some  slight  degree, 
their  thankfulness  and  obligation  to  Lieut.  Com.  T.  R.  Gedney, 
and  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  U.  S.  surveying  brig  Washing¬ 
ton,  for  their  decision  in  seizing  the  Amistad,  and  their  unremit¬ 
ting  kindness  and  hospitality  in  providing  for  their  comfort  on 
board  their  vessel,  as  well  as  the  means  they  have  taken  for  the 
protection  of  their  property. 

“We  also  must  express  our  indebtedness  to  that  nation  whose 
flag  they  so  worthily  bear,  with  an  assurance  that  this  act  will  be 
duly  appreciated  by  our  most  gracious  sovereign,  her  Majesty 
the  Queen  of  Spain.  Don  Jose  Ruiz, 

Don  Pedro  Montez.” 

Ruiz  and  Montez  are  thus  described  by  a  correspondent  of  the 
New  London  Gazette,  who  visited  the  Amistad  immediately  after 
its  capture  : 

“  Jose  Ruiz,  is  a  very  gentlemanly  and  intelligent  young  man, 
and  speaks  English  fluently.  He  was  the  owner  of  most  of  the 
slaves  and  cargo,  which  he  was  conveying  to  his  estate  on  the 
Island  of  Cuba.  The  other,  Pedro  Montez,  is  about  fifty  years  of 
age,  and  is  the  owner  of  three  of  the  slaves.  He  was  formerly  a 
ship  master,  and  has  navigated  the  vessel  since  her  seizure  by  the 
blacks.  Both  of  them,  as  may  be  naturally  supposed,  are  most 
unfeignedly  thankful  for  their  deliverance.  Pedro  is  the  most 
striking  instance  of  complacency  and  unalloyed  delight  we  have 
ever  witnessed,  and  it  is  not  strange,  since  only  yesterday  his 
sentence  was  pronounced  by  the  chief  of  the  bucaneers,  and  his 
death  song  chanted  by  the  grim  crew,  who  gathered  with  uplifted 
sabres  around  his  devoted  head,  which,  as  well  as  his  arms,  bear 


XXXVI 


APPENDIX  E. 


the  scars  of  several  wounds  inflicted  at  the  time  of  the  murder  of 
the  ill-fated  captain  and  crew.  He  sat  smoking  his  Havana  on 
the  deck,  and  to  judge  from  the  martyr-like  serenity  of  his  coun¬ 
tenance,  his  emotions  are  such  as  rarely  stir  the  heart  of  man. 
When  Mr.  Porter,  the  prize  master,  assured  him  of  his  safety,  he 
threw  his  arms  around  his  neck,  while  gushing  tears  coursing 
down  his  furrowed  cheek,  bespoke  the  overflowing  transport  of  his 
soul.  Every  now  and  then  he  clasped  his  hands,  and  with  up¬ 
lifted  eyes,  gave  thanks  to  ‘  the  Holy  Virgin’  who  had  led  him  out 
of  his  troubles.” 

It  will  be  necessary  to  contrast  the  deeds  of  these  “  gentle¬ 
manly  and  intelligent”  Christians  with  that  of  the  “ruthless  gang 
of  African  bucaneers,”  from  whose  grasp  they  were  so  providen¬ 
tially  rescued.  In  giving  the  subsequent  detail,  I  would  not  be 
understood  as  compromising  for  a  single  instant  my  belief  in  the 
inviolability  of  human  life,  though  it  must  I  think  be  confessed 
that  in  the  instance  related  below,  the  heathen  and  barbarous  ne¬ 
groes  contrast  very  favorably  with  the  civilized  and  Christian 
Spaniards. 

“The  following  communication  from  Mr.  Day,  of  New  Ha¬ 
ven,  gives  a  summary  account  of  the  African  captives,  as  stated 
by  themselves,  from  the  time  they  left  Africa,  till  the  time  they 
obtained  possession  of  the  Amistad  : 

“New  Haven,  Oct.  8,  1839. 

[To  the  Editor  of  the  Journal  of  Commerce.] 

“Gentlemen  — The  following  short  and  plain  narrative  of  one 
or  two  of  the  African  captives,  in  whose  history  and  prospects 
such  anxious  interest  is  felt,  has  been  taken  at  the  earliest  oppor¬ 
tunity  possible,  consistently  with  more  important  examinations. 
It  may  be  stated  in  general  terms,  as  the  result  of  the  investiga¬ 
tions  thus  far  made,  that  the  Africans  all  testify  that  they  left  Af¬ 
rica  about  six  months  since  ;  were  landed  under  cover  of  the  night 
at  a  small  village  or  hamlet  near  Havana,  and  after  ten  or  twelve 
days  were  taken  through  Havana  by  night  by  the  man  who  had 
bought  them,  named  Pipi,  who  has  since  been  satisfactorily  proved 
to  be  Ruiz ;  were  cruelly  treated  on  the  passage,  being  beaten 
and  flogged,  and  in  some  instances  having  vinegar  and  gunpow¬ 
der  rubbed  into  their  wounds  ;  and  that  they  suffered  intensely 


APPENDIX  E. 


XXXY11 


from  hunger  and  thirst.  The  perfect  coincidence  in  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  the  prisoners,  examined  as  they  have  been  separately, 
is  felt  by  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the  minutes  of  the  examina¬ 
tion,  to  carry  with  it  overwhelming  evidence  of  the  truth  of  their 
story.  Yours  respectfully, 

“  George  E.  Day.” 

“  Monday,  Oct.  7. 

“  This  afternoon,  almost  the  first  time  in  which  the  two  inter¬ 
preters,  Covey  and  Pratt,  have  not  been  engaged  with  special  re¬ 
ference  to  the  trial  to  take  place  in  November,  one  of  the  cap¬ 
tives  named  Grabeau,  was  requested  to  give  a  narrative  of  himself 
since  leaving  Africa,  for  publication  in  the  papers.  The  inter¬ 
preters,  who  are  considerably  exhausted  by  the  examinations 
which  have  already  taken  place,  only  gave  the  substance  of  what 
he  said,  without  going  into  details,  and  it  was  not  thought  advis¬ 
able  to  press  the  matter.  Grabeau  first  gave  an  account  of  the 
passage  from  Africa  to  Havana.  On  board  the  vessel  there  was 
a  large  number  of  men,  but  the  women  and  children  were  far  the 
most  numerous.  They  were  fastened  together  in  couples  by  the 
wrists  and  legs,  and  kept  in  that  situation  day  and  night.  Here 
Grabeau  and  another  of  the  Africans  named  Kimbo,  lay  down 
upon  the  floor,  to  show  the  painful  position  in  which  they  were 
obliged  to  sleep.  By  day  it  was  no  better.  The  space  between 
decks  was  so  small,  —  according  to  their  account  not  exceeding 
four  feet,  —  that  they  were  obliged,  if  they  attempted  to  stand,  to 
keep  a  crouching  posture.  The  decks  fore  and  aft  were  crowded 
to  overflowing.  They  suffered  (Grabeau  said)  terribly.  They 
had  rice  enough  to  eat,  but  had  very  little  to  drink.  If  they  left 
any  of  the  rice  that  was  given  to  them  uneaten,  either  from  sick¬ 
ness  or  any  other  cause,  they  were  whipped.  It  was  a  common 
thing  for  them  to  be  forced  to  eat  so  much  as  to  vomit.  Many  of 
the  men,  women,  and  children  died  on  the  passage. 

“  They  were  landed  by  night  at  a  small  village  near  Havana, 
Soon  several  white  men  came  to  buy  them,  and  among  them  was 
the  one  claiming  to  be  their  master,  whom  they  call  Pipi,  said  to 
be  a  Spanish  nick-name  for  Jose.  Pipi,  or  Ruiz,  selected  such 
as  he  liked,  and  made  them  stand  in  a  row.  He  then  felt  each  of 
them  in  every  part  of  the  body  ;  made  them  open  their  mouths 

D 


xxxviii  APPENDIX  E. 

to  see  if  their  teeth  were  sound,  and  carried  the  examinations  to 
a  degree  of  minuteness  of  which  only  a  slave  dealer  would  be 
guilty. 

«  When  they  were  separated  from  their  companions  who  had 
come  with  them  from  Africa,  there  was  weeping  among  the  wo¬ 
men  and  children,  but  Grabeau  did  not  weep,  ‘  because  he  is  a 
man.’  Kimbo,  who  sat  by,  said  that  he  also  shed  no  tears  —  but 
he  thought  of  his  home  in  Africa,  and  of  friends  left  there  whom 
he  should  never  see  again. 

“  The  men  bought  by  Ruiz  were  taken  on  foot  through  Havana 
in  the  night,  and  put  on  board  a  vessel.  During  the  night  they 
were  kept  in  irons,  placed  about  the  hands,  feet  and  neck.  They 
were  treated  during  the  day  in  a  somewhat  milder  manner,  though 
all  the  irons  were  never  taken  off  at  once.  Their  allowance  of 
food  was  very  scant,  and  of  water  still  more  so.  They  were  very 
hungry,  and  suffered  much  in  the  hot  days  and  nights  from  thirst. 
In  addition  to  this  there  was  much  whipping,  and  the  cook  told 
them  that  when  they  reached  land  they  would  all  be  eaten.  This 
‘  made  their  hearts  burn.’  To  avoid  being  eaten,  and  to  escape 
the  bad  treatment  they  experienced,  they  rose  upon  the  crew  with 
the  design  of  returning  to  Africa. 

«  Such  is  the  substance  of  Grabeau’s  story,  confirmed  by  Kim¬ 
bo,  who  was  present  most  of  the  time.  He  says  he  likes  the 
people  of  this  country,  because,  to  use  his  own  expression,  ‘  they 
are  good  people  —  they  believe  in  God,  and  there  is  no  slavery 
here.’ 

“  The  story  of  Grabeau  was  then  read  and  interpreted  to 
Cinque,  while  a  number  of  the  other  Africans  were  standing 
about,  and  confirmed  by  all  of  them  in  every  particular.  When 
the  part  relating  to  the  crowded  state  of  the  vessel  from  Africa  to 
Havana  was  read,  Cinque  added  that  there  was  scarcely  room 
enough  to  sit  or  lie  down.  Another  showed  the  marks  of  the 
irons  on  his  wrists,  which  must  at  the  time  have  been  terribly 
lacerated.  On  their  separation  at  Havana,  Cinque  remarked  that 
almost  all  of  them  wrere  in  tears,  and  himself  among  the  rest,  ‘  be¬ 
cause  they  had  come  from  the  same  country,  and  were  now  to  be 
parted  for  ever.’  To  the  question,  how  it  was  possible  for  the 
Africans  when  chained  in  the  manner  he  described,  to  rise  upon 
.the  crew,  he  replied  that  the  chain  which  connected  the  iron  col- 


APPENDIX  E. 


xxxix 


lars  about  their  necks  was  fastened  at  the  end  by  a  padlock,  and 
that  this  was  first  broken,  and  afterwards  the  other  irons.  Their 
object,  he  said,  in  the  affray,  was  to  make  themselves  free.  He 
then  requested  it  to  be  added  to  the  above,  that  ‘  if  he  tells  a  lie, 
God  sees  him  by  day  and  by  night.’  ” 

The  interpreters  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  extract  were  two 
Africans  belonging  to  the  crew  of  the  British  brig  of  war  Buz- 
zard,  which  providentially  arrived  at  New  York,  from  a  cruise  on 
the  coast  of  Africa.  They  were  found  to  speak  the  same  lan¬ 
guage  as  the  prisoners,  and  with  the  consent  of  Captain  Fitzger¬ 
ald,  their  services  were  immediately  secured  by  the  indefatigable 
committee  for  the  African  captives.  By  their  aid  much  informa¬ 
tion  was  elicited  respecting  the  native  country  and  previous  his¬ 
tory  of  these  negroes,  with  many  incidental  particulars  of  great 
interest,  some  of  which  will  appear  in  the  following  account. 
The  criminal  proceedings  against  the  Mendians  being  quashed, 
there  remained  the  claim  of  Ruiz  and  Montez  to  have  the  negroes 
returned  to  them  as  their  property.  To  sustain  this  claim  they 
produced  the  license,  signed  by  the  proper  authorities  at  Havana, 
permitting  the  removal  of  these  negroes  from  that  port  to  Prin¬ 
cipe,  in  the  same  island.  This  document  is  signed  by  General 
Espelata,  Captain-General  of  Cuba,  and  countersigned  by  Mar¬ 
tinez,  one  of  the  most  extensive  slave-traders  in  the  known  world. 
This  pass  or  license  described  the  negroes  as  ladinos ,  a  term  used 
to  designate  Africans  who  have  been  long  settled  in  Cuba.  It 
was  proved,  however,  that  they  were  Bozal  negroes,  that  is,  such  as 
had  been  very  lately  introduced,  and  the  testimony  on  both  sides, 
on  this  point,  established  a  fact  that  is  but  too  notorious,  that  the 
slave  trade  to  Cuba  is  openly  carried  on  with  the  connivance,  and 
even  with  the  corrupt  participation  of  the  authorities.  One  of  the 
witnesses,  D.  Francis  Bacon,  gives  the  following  account  of  the 
slave  trade :  — 

“  Mr.  Bacon  stated  that  he  left  the  coast  of  Africa  on  the  13th 
of  July,  1839.  He  knew  a  place  called  Dumbokoro  [Lomboko] 
by  the  Spaniards  :  it  was  an  island  in  the  river  or  lagoon  of  Gal- 
linas.  There  is  a  large  slave  factory  or  depot  at  this  place, 
which  is  said  to  belong  to  the  house  of  Martinez  in  Havana ; 
there  are  also  different  establishments  on  different  islands.  Mr. 


xl 


APPENDIX  E. 


Bacon  stated  that  he  had  seen  American,  Russian,  Spanish,  and 
Portuguese  vessels  at  Gallinas.  The  American  flag  was  a  com¬ 
plete  shelter ;  no  man-of-war  daring  to  capture  an  American  ves¬ 
sel.  The  slave  trade  on  that  part  of  the  coast  is  the  universal 
business  of  the  country,  and  by  far  the  most  profitable,  and  all 
engaged  in  it  who  could  raise  the  means.  Extensive  wars  take 
place  in  Africa,  for  obtaining  slaves  from  the  vanquished.  Dif¬ 
ferent  towns  and  villages  make  war  upon  each  other  for  this  pur¬ 
pose.  Some  are  sold  on  account  of  their  crimes,  others  for  debts. 
The  slaves  are  all  brought  on  to  the  coast  by  other  blacks,  and 
sold  at  the  slave  factories,  as  no  white  man  dare  penetrate  into 
the  interior.  Some  of  the  blacks  who  have  been  educated  at 
Sierra  Leone,  have  been  principal  dealers  in  the  slave  trade.” 

The  decision  of  the  District  Court  of  Connecticut  on  this 
question  of  property,  was  to  the  effect  that  since  their  original  in¬ 
troduction  into  Cuba  was  plainly  illegal,  they  were  free  by  the 
law  of  Spain,  and  of  course  could  not  be  the  property  of  Spanish 
subjects. 

The  subsequent  proceedings  were  undertaken  on  behalf  of 
the  United  States’  Government.  “The  District  Attorney,  Mr. 
Holabird,  filed  his  claim  under  Lieut.  Gedney’s  libel,  on  two  dis¬ 
tinct  grounds ;  one  that  these  Africans  had  been  claimed  by  the 
Government  of  Spain,  and  ought  to  be  retained  till  the  pleasure 
of  the  Executive  might  be  known,  as  to  that  demand ;  and  the 
other,  that  they  should  be  held  subject  to  the  disposition  of  the 
President,  to  be  re-transported  to  Africa,  under  the  act  of  1819.” 
The  Court  finally  decreed  that  the  Africans  should  be  delivered 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  be  transported  to  Africa, 
there  to  be  delivered  to  an  agent  appointed  to  receive  and  con¬ 
duct  them  home.  Against  this  decision,  though  it  is  what  he  had 
asked  for,  Holabird  appealed  on  behalf  of  the  United  States’ 
Government,  and  through  a  protracted  series  of  law  proceedings, 
it  was  finally  carried  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  the  highest  tribunal  in  the  nation.  The  counsel  em¬ 
ployed  on  both  sides,  in  the  different  stages,  were  of  the  highest 
reputation ;  and  finally  the  venerable  John  Quincy  Adams,  after 
an  absence  from  the  Courts  of  nearly  forty  years,  during  which 
interval  he  had  filled  the  highest  offices  of  state,  at  home  and 


APPENDIX  E. 


x\i 

abroad,  in  the  service  of  his  country,  did  not  think  it  beneath  him 
to  defend  the  Mendians  before  the  Supreme  Court,  against  the 
conspiracies  of  Forsyth,  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  Spanish 
Ambassador.  In  his  first  communication  to  the  latter,  Forsyth 
says : 

“  All  the  proceedings  in  the  matter,  on  the  part  of  both  the 
executive  and  judicial  branches  of  the  government,  have  had  their 
foundation  in  the  assumption  that  Montez  and  Ruiz  alone  were 
the  parties  aggrieved  ;  and  that  their  claim  to  the  surrender  of  the 
property  was  founded  in  fact  and  in  justice.” 

The  Spanish  minister  and  his  successor,  complained  bitterly, 
in  the  course  of  a  long  correspondence,  of  the  delay  in  giving  up 
the  Africans,  on  the  ground,  as  emphatically  stated  in  one  of  their 
letters  to  the  Department  of  State,  that  “  the  public  vengeance 
had  not  been  satisfied ;  for  be  it  recollected  that  the  legation  of 
Spain  does  not  demand  the  delivery  of  slaves,  but  of  assassins.” 
In  a  previous  communication  it  was  intimated  that  “the  infliction 
of  capital  punishment  in  this  case  (in  the  United  States,)  would 
not  be  attended  with  the  salutary  effects  had  in  view  by  the  law, 
when  it  resorts  to  this  painful  and  terrible  alternative,  namely,  to 
prevent  the  commission  of  similar  offences.”  Notwithstanding 
these  dreadful  intimations  of  the  fate  awaiting  the  Africans  in 
Cuba,  the  American  Government  deliberately  adopted  the  design 
of  delivering  them  up,  either  as  property  or  as  assassins.  That 
Government  found  willing  agents  in  the  United  States’  Marshal, 
and  the  District  Attorney  of  Connecticut.  The  following  ex¬ 
tracts  from  the  argument  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  will  explain 
these  disgraceful  transactions : 

“  On  the  7th  of  January,  the  Secretary  of  State  writes  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  his  letter  of 
the  3d,  informing  him  that  the  schooner  Grampus  would  re¬ 
ceive  the  negroes  of  the  Amistad,  ‘for  the  purpose  of  conveying 
them  to  Cuba,  in  the  event  of  their  delivery  being  adjudged  by 
the  Circuit  Court,  before  whom  the  case  is  pending.’  This  sin¬ 
gular  blunder,  in  naming  the  Court,  shows  in  what  manner  and 
with  how  little  care  the  Department  of  State  allowed  itself  to 
conduct  an  affair,  involving  no  less  than  the  liberties  and  lives  of 
every  one  of  my  clients.  This  letter  enclosed  the  order  of  the 


xlii 


APPENDIX  E. 


President  to  the  Marshal  of  Connecticut  for  the  delivery  of  the 
negroes  to  Lieut.  Paine.  Although  disposing  of  the  lives  of  forty 
human  beings,  it  has  not  the  form  or  solemnity  of  a  warrant,  and 
is  not  even  signed  by  the  President  in  his  official  capacity.  It  is 
a  mere  order. 

“‘The  Marshal  of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of  Con¬ 
necticut  will  deliver  over  to  Lieut.  John  S.  Paine,  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  and  aid  in  conveying  on  board  the  schooner  Gram¬ 
pus,  under  his  command,  all  the  negroes,  late  of  the  Spanish 
schooner  Amistad,  in  his  custody,  under  process  now  pending 
before  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of 
Connecticut.  For  so  doing,  this  order  will  be  his  warrant.. 

“‘Given  under  my  hand,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  7th 
day  of  January,  A.  D.  1840. 

“‘M.  Van  Buren. 

“  ‘  By  the  President : 

“  ‘John  Forsyth,  Sec.  of  State.’ 

“  That  order  is  good  for  nothing  at  all.  It  did  not  even  de¬ 
scribe  the  Court  correctly,  under  whose  protection  those  unfortu¬ 
nate  people  were.  And  on  the  11th  of  January,  the  District  At¬ 
torney  had  to  send  a  special  messenger,  who  came,  it  appears,  all 
the  way  to  Washington  in  one  day,  to  inform  the  Secretary 
that  the  negroes  were  not  holden  under  the  order  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  but  of  the  District  Court.  And  he  says,  ‘  Should  the  pre¬ 
tended  friends  of  the  negroes  ’  —  the  pretended  friends !  —  ‘  obtain 
a  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  the  Marshal  could  not  justify  under  that 
warrant.’  And  he  says,  ‘  the  Marshal  wishes  me  to  inquire  ’  —  a 
most  amiable  and  benevolent  inquiry  —  ‘whether  in  the  event  of 
a  decree  requiring  him  to  release  the  negroes,  or  in  case  of  an 
appeal  by  the  adverse  party,  it  is  expected  the  Executive  warrant 
will  be  executed’  —  that  is,  whether  he  is  to  carry  the  negroes 
on  board  of  the  Grampus  in  the  face  of  a  decree  of  the  Court. 
And  he  requests  instructions  on  the  point.”  -*  *  # 

On  the  12th  of  January,  the  very  next  day  after  the  letter  of 
the  District  Attorney  was  written  at  New  Haven,  the  Secretary 
of  State  replies  in  a  despatch  which  is  marked  ‘  confidential.’ 


APPENDIX  E. 


xliii 


“ ‘  [confidential.] 

‘“Department  of  State,  Jan.  12,  1840. 

“  ‘  Sir,  —  Your  letter  of  the  llth  inst.  has  just  been  received. 
The  order  for  the  delivery  of  the  negroes  of  the  Amistad  is  here¬ 
with  returned,  corrected  agreeably  to  your  suggestion.  With 
reference  to  the  inquiry  from  the  Marshal,  to  which  you  allude, 
I  have  to  state,  by  direction  of  the  President,  that  if  the  decision 
of  the  Court  is  such  as  is  anticipated,  the  order  of  the  President 
is  to  be  carried  into  execution,  unless  an  appeal  shall  actually 
have  been  interposed.  You  are  not  to  take  it  for  granted 
that  it  will  be  interposed.  And  if,  on  the  contrary,  the  de¬ 
cision  of  the  Court  is  different,  you  are  to  take  out  an  appeal,  and 
allow  things  to  remain  as  they  are  until  the  appeal  shall  have 
been  decided.  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant. 

“‘John  Forsyth. 

“  ‘  W.  S.  Holabird,  Esq., 

“  1  Attorney  U.  S.for  District  of  Conn ' 

“But  after  all  the  order  did  not  avail.  The  District  Judge, 
contrary  to  all  these  anticipations  of  the  Executive,  decided  that 
the  thirty-six  negroes  taken  by  Lieut.  Gedney  and  brought  be¬ 
fore  the  Court  on  the  certificate  of  the  Governor-General  of  Cuba, 
were  freemen  ;  that  they  had  been  kidnapped  in  Africa ;  that  they 
did  not  own  these  Spanish  names ;  that  they  were  not  ladinos  ; 
and  were  not  correctly  described  in  the  passport,  but  were  new 
negroes  bought  by  Ruiz  in  the  depot  of  Havana,  and  fully  enti¬ 
tled  to  their  liberty.” 

At  a  public  meeting  held  subsequent  to  their  liberation,  the 
teacher  of  the  Africans  made  a  statement  as  follows: — Their 
ruling  passion  was  a  love  for  home ;  and  their  desire  to  return 
thither  was  constantly  manifesting  itself.  One  day,  a  short  time 
ago,  Fohlee  came  to  his  teacher,  with  his  cap  in  his  hand,  and 
said,  “  If  Merican  men  offer  me  as  much  gold  as  fill  this  cap  full 
up,  and  give  me  houses,  land  and  every  ting,  so  dat  I  stay  in  dis 
country,  I  say  no !  Is  dat  like  my  father  ?  Is  dat  like  my  moth¬ 
er  ?  Is  dat  like  my  sister?  Is  dat  like  my  brother?  No!  I 
want  to  see  my  father,  my  mother,  my  brother  and  sister.”  This 
feeling  manifested  itself  in  many  ways ;  and  they  expressed 
themselves  willing  to  undergo  any  thing  short  of  losing  their 


xliv 


APPENDIX  E. 


lives,  if  by  so  doing  they  could  be  at  liberty  to  return  to  the 
Mendi  country. 

I  now  introduce  the  lively  narrative  of  my  friend  Lewis 
Tappan : 

«  EXCURSION  WITH  THE  AMISTAD  AFRICANS. 

“ On  board  Steam  Boat,  L.  I.  Sound,  Nov.  15,  1841. 

“Brother  Leavitt:  —  As  the  committee  had  chartered  a 
ship  to  take  the  Mendians  to  Sierra  Leone  about  the  middle  of 
this  month,  and  as  the  funds  contributed  by  a  benevolent  public 
were  about  all  expended,  it  appeared  necessary,  in  addition  to  an 
appeal  published  in  the  newspapers,  to  take  some  prompt  and 
efficient  measures  to  procure  funds  sufficient  to  pay  for  their  outfit 
and  passages,  and,  if  possible,  something  to  sustain  the  contem¬ 
plated  mission  in  Mendi.  One  of  the  committee  being  sick  and 
another  absent,  it  devolved  upon  me  to  perform  the  excursion.  I 
was  assisted  essentially  by  Mr.  Samuel  Deming,  one  of  the  com¬ 
mittee  at  Farmington,  and  by  Mr.  William  Raymond  and  Mr. 
Needham.  On  arriving  at  Hartford,  the  third  instant,  I  learned 
that  Mr.  Deming  had  proceeded  to  Boston,  accompanied  by  ten 
of  the  Mendians,  viz.,  Cinque,  Banna,  Si-si,  Su-ma,  Fu-li,  Ya-bo-i, 
So-ko-ma,  Kin-na,  Ka-li  and  Mar-gru.  These  were  selected  not 
on  account  of  being  the  best  scholars,  but  with  reference  to  their 
being  the  best  singers,  although  some  of  them  are  among  the 
best  scholars.  None  of  them,  however,  have  had  instruction  in 
music.  Arriving  in  Boston,  the  city  was,  as  I  anticipated,  full  of 
excitement,  on  account  of  the  approaching  election,  —  a  circum¬ 
stance  unknown  to  the  committee  at  Farmington,  who  had  sent 
off  the  Mendians  sooner  than  we  had  calculated,  —  and  it  seemed 
almost  impossible  to  procure  a  suitable  place  in  which  to  hold 
meetings,  or  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  people,  as  the  whole  — 
democrats,  whigs  and  abolitionists  —  had  every  nerve  strained  for 
the  political  contest.  However,  preparation  had  been  made  for  a 
meeting  at  the  Melodeon,  late  Lion  Theatre,  on  Thursday  even¬ 
ing.  A  few  hundreds  assembled,  and  appeared  to  be  highly  grat¬ 
ified  with  the  performances.  It  seemed  to  them  marvellous  that 
these  men  and  children,  who,  less  than  three  years  since,  were 
almost  naked  savages  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  should,  under  the 


APPENDIX  E. 


xlv 


untoward  circumstances  in  which  they  have  been  placed  for  the 
largest  part  of  the  time  since  they  have  been  in  a  civilized  and 
Christian  country,  appear  so  far  advanced  in  civilization  and 
knowledge.  Only  forty-six  dollars  were  received,  the  proceeds 
of  tickets  and  a  collection,  but  a  strong  desire  was  expressed  that 
there  should  be  another  meeting. 

“  Saturday  evening  was  the  only  evening  we  could  have 
Marlboro’  Chapel,  the  largest  church  in  the  city.  Preliminary 
to  this  meeting,  a  private  meeting  of  invited  gentlemen  was  held 
during  the  afternoon,  at  the  Marlboro’  Hotel,  the  Mendians  being 
present.  The  meeting  was  well  attended  and  a  good  impression 
was  made.  In  the  evening  there  was  a  large  meeting  in  the 
Chapel;  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson  opened  it  with  prayer,  concluding 
with  the  Lord’s  prayer,  each  sentence  being  repeated  in  our  lan¬ 
guage  by  the  Mendians.  A  statement  was  then  made  of  their 
past  and  present  condition,  of  their  good  conduct,  their  proficien¬ 
cy,  of  their  ardent  desire  to  return  to  Mendi,  and  the  favorable 
prospects  of  establishing  a  mission  in  their  country.  Three  or 
four  of  the  best  readers  were  then  called  upon  to  read  a  passage 
in  the  New  Testament.  They  then  read  and  spelled  a  passage 
named  by  the  audience.  One  of  the  Africans  next  related,  in 
‘Merica  language,’ their  condition  in  their  own  country,  their 
being  kidnapped,  the  sufferings  of  the  middle  passage,  their  stay 
at  Havana,  the  transactions  on  board  the  Amistad,  &c.  The 
story  was  intelligible  to  the  audience,  with  occasional  explana¬ 
tions.  They  were  next  requested  to  sing  two  or  three  of  their 
native  songs.  The  performance  afforded  great  delight  to  the  au¬ 
dience.  As  a  pleasing  contrast,  however,  they  sang  immediately 
after,  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion : 

“  1  When  I  can  read  my  title  clear 
To  mansions  in  the  skies, 

I’ll  bid  farewell  to  every  fear, 

And  wipe  my  weeping  eyes/ 

“  This  produced  a  deep  impression  upon  the  audience  ;  and 
while  these  late  pagans  were  singing  so  correctly  and  impres¬ 
sively  a  hymn  in  a  Christian  church,  many  ‘  weeping  eyes’  bore 
testimony  that  the  act  and  its  associations  touched  a  chord  that 
vibrated  in  many  hearts.  Cinque  was  then  introduced  to  the 
audience,  and  addressed  them  in  his  native  tongue.  It  is  impos- 


xlvi 


APPENDIX  E. 


sible  to  describe  the  novel  and  deeply  interesting  manner  in 
which  he  acquitted  himself.  The  subject  of  his  speech  was  sim¬ 
ilar  to  that  of  his  countryman  who  had  addressed  the  audience  in 
English,  but  he  related  more  minutely  and  graphically  the  occur¬ 
rences  on  board  the  Amistad.  The  easy  manner  of  Cinque,  his 
natural,  graceful  and  energetic  action,  the  rapidity  of  his  utter¬ 
ance,  and  the  remarkable  and  various  expressions  of  his  counte¬ 
nance,  excited  the  admiration  and  applause  of  the  audience.  He 
was  pronounced  a  powerful  natural  orator,  and  one  born  to  sway 
the  minds  of  his  fellow  men.  Should  he  be  converted  and  be¬ 
come  a  preacher  of  the  cross  in  Africa,  what  delightful  results 
may  be  anticipated ! 

“  The  amount  of  the  statements  made  by  Kin-na,  Fu-li  and 
Cinque,  and  the  facts  in  the  case,  are  as  follows  : — These  Mendi- 
ans  belong  to  six  different  tribes,  although  their  dialects  are  not 
so  dissimilar  as  to  prevent  them  from  conversing  together  very 
readily.  Most  of  them  belong  to  a  country  which  they  call  Men- 
di,  but  which  is  known  to  geographers  and  travellers  as  Kos-sa, 
and  lies  south-east  of  Sierra  Leone ;  as  we  suppose,  from  sixty  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  With  one  or  two  exceptions, 
these  Mendians  are  not  related  to  each  other ;  nor  did  they  know 
each  other  until  they  met  at  the  slave  factory  of  Pedro  Blanco, 
the  wholesale  trafficker  in  men,  at  Lomboko,  on  the  coast  of  Af¬ 
rica.  They  were  stolen  separately,  many  of  them  by  black  men, 
some  of  whom  were  accompanied  by  Spaniards,  as  they  were 
going  from  one  village  to  another,  or  were  at  a  distance  from 
their  abodes.  The  whole  came  to  Havana  in  the  same  ship,  a 
Portuguese  vessel  named  Tecora,  except  the  four  children,  whom 
they  saw,  for  the  first  time,  on  board  the  Amistad.  It  seems  that 
they  remained  at  Lomboko  several  weeks,  until  six  or  seven  hun¬ 
dred  were  collected,  when  they  were  put  in  irons  and  placed  in 
the  hold  of  a  ship,  which  soon  put  to  sea.  Being  chased  by  a 
British  cruiser,  she  returned,  landed  the  cargo  of  human  beings, 
and  the  vessel  was  seized  and  taken  to  Sierra  Leone  for  adjudi¬ 
cation.  After  some  time,  the  Africans  were  put  on  board  the 
Tecora.  After  suffering  the  horrors  of  the  middle  passage,  they 
arrived  at  Havana.  Here  they  were  put  into  a  barracoon,  one  of 
the  oblong  enclosures,  without  a  roof,  where  human  beings  are 
kept,  as  they  keep  sheep  and  oxen  near  the  cattle  markets,  in  the 


APPENDIX  E. 


xlvii 


vicinity  of  our  large  cities,  until  purchasers  are  found,  for  ten 
days,  when  they  were  sold  to  Jose  Ruiz,  and  shipped  on  board 
the  Amistad,  together  with  the  three  girls  and  a  little  boy  who 
came  on  board  with  Pedro  Montez.  The  Amistad  was  a  coaster, 
bound  to  Principe,  in  Cuba,  distant  some  two  or  three  hundred 
miles.  The  Africans  were  kept  in  chains  and  fetters,  and  were 
supplied  with  but  a  small  quantity  of  food  or  water.  A  single 
banana,  they  say,  was  served  out  as  food  for  a  day  or  two,  and 
only  a  small  cup  of  water  for  each  daily.  When  any  of  them 
took  a  little  water  from  the  cask,  they  were  severely  flogged. 
The  Spaniards  took  Antonio,  the  cabin-boy  and  slave  to  Captain 
Ferrer,  and  stamped  him  on  the  shoulder  with  a  hot  iron ;  then 
put  powder,  palm  oil,  &c.  upon  the  wound,  so  that  they  ‘  could 
know  him  for  their  slave.’  The  cook,  a  colored  Spaniard,  told 
them  that  on  their  arrival  at  Principe,  in  three  days,  they  would 
have  their  throats  cut,  be  chopped  in  pieces,  and  salted  down  for 
meat  for  the  Spaniards.  He  pointed  to  some  barrels  of  beef  on 
the  deck,  then  to  an  empty  barrel,  and  by  significant  gestures, — 
as  the  Mendians  say,  by  ‘talking  with  his  fingers,’ — he  made 
them  understand  that  they  were  to  be  slain,  &c.  At  four  o’clock 
that  day,  when  they  were  called  on  deck  to  eat,  Cinque  found  a 
nail,  which  he  secreted  under  his  arm.  In  the  night  they  held  a 
counsel  as  to  what  was  best  to  be  done.  ‘  We  feel  bad,’ said  Kin- 
na,  ‘  and  we  ask  Cinque  what  we  had  best  do.  Cinque  say,  “  Me 
think,  and  by  and  by  I  tell  you.”  ’  He  then  said,  ‘If  we  do  noth¬ 
ing,  we  be  killed.  We  may  as  well  die  in  trying  to  be  free  as  to 
be  killed  and  eaten.’  Cinque  afterwards  told  them  what  he  would 
do.  With  the  aid  of  the  nail  and  the  assistance  of  Grabeau,  he 
freed  himself  from  the  irons  on  his  wrists  and  ancles,  and  from 
the  chain  on  his  neck.  He  then,  with  his  own  hands,  wrested 
the  irons  from  the  limbs  and  necks  of  his  countrymen.  It  is  not 
in  my  power  to  give  an  adequate  description  of  Cinque  when  he 
showed  how  he  did  this  and  led  his  comrades  to  the  conflict  and 
achieved  their  freedom.  In  my  younger  years  I  saw  Kemble  and 
Siddons,  and  the  representation  of  Othello,  at  Covent  Garden,  but 
no  acting  that  I  ever  witnessed  came  near  that  to  which  I  allude. 
When  delivered  from  their  irons,  the  Mendians,  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  the  children,  who  were  asleep,  about  four  or  five  o’clock 
in  the  morning,  armed  with  cane-knives,  some  boxes  of  which 


xlviii 


APPENDIX  E. 


they  found  in  the  hold,  leaped  upon  the  deck.  Cinque  killed  the 
cook.  The  captain  fought  desperately.  He  inflicted  wounds  on 
two  of  the  Africans,  who  soon  after  died,  and  cut  severely  one  or 
two  of  those  who  now  survive.  Two  sailors  leaped  over  the  side 
of  the  vessel.  The  Mendians  say  ‘they  could  not  catch  land  — 
they  must  have  swum  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,’  but  Ruiz  and 
Montez  supposed  they  reached  the  island  in  a  boat.  Cinque  now 
took  command  of  the  vessel ;  placed  Si-si  at  the  helm ;  gave  his 
people  plenty  to  eat  and  drink.  Ruiz  and  Montez  had  fled  to  the 
hold.  They  were  dragged  out,  and  Cinque  ordered  them  to  be 
put  in  irons.  They  cried  and  begged  not  to  be  put  in  chains, 
but  Cinque  replied,  ‘You  say  fetters  good  for  negro  —  if  good  for 
negro  good  for  Spanish  man  too:  you  try  them  two  days,  and  see 
how  you  feel.’  The  Spaniards  asked  for  water,  and  it  was  dealt 
out  to  them  in  the  same  little  cup  with  which  they  had  dealt  it 
out  to  the  Africans.  They  complained  bitterly  of  being  thirsty. 
Cinque  said,  ‘You  say  little  water  enough  for  nigger.  If  little 
water  do  for  him,  a  little  do  for  you  too.’  Cinque  said  the  Span¬ 
iards  cried  a  great  deal ;  he  felt  very  sorry ;  only  meant  to  let 
them  see  how  good  it  was  to  be  treated  like  the  poor  slaves.  In 
two  days  the  irons  were  removed  ;  and  then,  said  Cinque,  we  give 
them  plenty  water  and  food,  and  treat  them  very  well.  Kin-na 
stated  that  as  the  water  fell  short,  Cinque  would  not  drink  any, 
nor  allow  any  of  the  rest  to  drink  any  thing  but  salt  water,  but 
dealt  out  daily  a  little  to  each  of  the  four  children,  and  the  same 
quantity  to  each  of  the  two  Spaniards  !  In  a  day  or  two  Ruiz 
and  Montez  wrote  a  letter,  and  told  Cinque  that  when  they  spoke 
a  vessel,  if  he  would  give  it  to  them,  the  people  would  take  them 
to  Sierra  Leone.  Cinque  took  the  letter  and  said,  ‘Very  well ;’ 
but  afterwards  told  his  brethren,  ‘We  have  no  letter  in  Mendi. 
I  don’t  know  what  is  in  that  letter — there  may  be  death  in  it. 
So  we  will  take  some  iron  and  a  string,  bind  them  about  the 
letter,  and  send  it  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

“  When  any  vessel  came  in  sight,  the  Spaniards  were  shut 
down  in  the  hold,  and  forbidden  to  come  on  deck  on  pain  of  death. 
One  of  the  Africans,  who  could  talk  a  little  English,  answered 
questions  when  they  were  hailed  from  other  vessels. 

“  It  is  unnecessary  to  narrate  here  subsequent  facts,  as  they 
Jiave  been  published  throughout  the  country.  After  Cinque’s 


APPENDIX  E. 


xlix 


address  a  collection  was  taken,  and  the  services  were  concluded 
by  the  Mendians  singing  Bishop  Heber’s  missionary  hymn: 

“‘From  Greenland’s  icy  mountains.’ 

“  At  the  conclusion  of  the  meeting  some  linen  and  cotton  table 
cloths  and  napkins,  manufactured  by  the  Africans,  were  exhibited, 
and  eagerly  purchased  of  them  by  persons  present,  at  liberal 
prices.  They  are  in  the  habit  of  purchasing  linen  and  cotton  at  the 
shops,  unravelling  the  edges  about  six  to  ten  inches,  and  making, 
with  their  fingers,  neat  fringes,  in  imitation,  they  say,  of  ‘  Mendi 
fashion.’  Large  numbers  of  the  audience  advanced,  and  took 
Cinque  and  the  rest  by  the  hand.  The  transactions  of  this  meet¬ 
ing  have  thus  been  stated  at  length,  and  the  account  will  serve  to 
show  how  the  subsequent  meetings  were  conducted,  as  the  servi¬ 
ces  in  other  places  were  similar. 

“  These  Africans,  while  in  prison,  (which  was  the  largest  part 
of  the  time  they  have  been  in  this  country)  learned  but  little  com¬ 
paratively,  but  since  they  have  been  liberated,  they  have  been 
anxious  to  learn,  as  they  said  ‘  it  would  be  good  for  us  in  our  own 
country.’  Many  of  them  write  well,  read,  spell  and  sing  well,  and 
have  attended  to  arithmetic.  The  younger  ones  have  made  great 
progress  in  study.  Most  of  them  have  much  fondness  for  arith¬ 
metic.  They  have  also  cultivated  as  a  garden  fifteen  acres  of 
land,  and  have  raised  a  large  quantity  of  corn,  potatoes,  onions, 
beets,  et  cet.,  which  will  be  useful  to  them  at  sea.  In  some 
places  we  visited,  the  audience  were  astonished  at  the  perform¬ 
ance  of  Kali,  who  is  only  eleven  years  of  age.  He  would  not 
only  spell  any  word  in  either  of  the  Gospels,  but  spell  sentences, 
without  any  mistake,  such  sentences  as  ‘  Blessed  are  the  meek, 
for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth,’  naming  each  letter  and  syllable, 
and  recapitulating  as  he  went  along,  until  he  pronounced  the 
whole  sentence.  Two  hundred  and  seven  dollars  were  received 
at  this  meeting. 

“  ‘  On  Sabbath  evening  a  meeting  was  attended  in  Rev.  Mr. 
Beman’s  Church,  (colored.)  It  was  impossible  for  all  to  gain  ad¬ 
mittance —  collected  sixteen  dollars  and  fifty-one  cents.  The 
same  evening  a  meeting  was  held  at  Elder  N.  Colver’s.  A  very 
warm  interest  was  manifested  by  this  congregation,  and  the  sum 
of  ninety  dollars  was  contributed.  The  next  morning  a  respect- 

E 


1 


APPENDIX  E. 


able  mechanic,  a  member  of  this  church,  offered  to  go  to  Mendi 
with  his  wife  and  child,  to  take  up  their  permanent  abode  there. 
On  Monday  we  proceeded  to  Haverhill.  It  was  a  rainy  day,  and 
town  meeting  was  held  at  the  same  hour.  The  audience  was 
small,  but  a  deep  interest  was  felt,  and  fifty-six  dollars  contribu¬ 
ted.  Rev.  Charles  Fitch  opened  the  meeting  with  prayer. 
The  Mendians  and  their  friends  will  long  remember  the  hospital¬ 
ity  and  generosity  of  their  friends  in  this  place.  After  a  stay  of 
two  hours,  we  proceeded  to  Lowell.  The  heavy  rain  prevented  a 
general  attendance.  Only  thirty-one  dollars  was  collected,  be¬ 
side  some  private  donations.  Mr.  John  Levi,  a  colored  citizen, 
rendered  important  services  to  us,  and  several  of  the  clergymen 
and  other  inhabitants  rendered  efficient  aid.  On  Tuesday  we 
went  to  Nashua,  N.  H.,  and  remained  two  hours.  Owing  to  some 
untoward  circumstances,  the  inhabitants  generally  had  not  been 
notified  of  the  meeting.  A  small  number  only  attended.  The 
collection  was  twenty-seven  dollars.  In  the  evening  at  Lowell, 
the  large  Methodist  Church,  St.  Paul’s,  was  crowded,  one  thou¬ 
sand  five  hundred  people  being  present,  it  was  said,  and  many 
hundreds  unable  to  get  admission.  The  meeting  was  opened 
with  an  appropriate  prayer  by  Rev.  Luther  Lee.  In  order  to  give 
an  opportunity  to  the  audience  to  see  and  hear  Cinque,  he  was 
invited  into  the  pulpit,  where  he  made  an  energetic  address.  One 
hundred  and  six  dollars  were  collected.  At  the  close  of  the  ser¬ 
vices,  nearly  the  whole  congregation  came  forward  and  took  the 
Mendians  by  the  hand,  with  kind  words  and  many  presents.  The 
ministers  of  all  denominations  attended  the  meeting,  with  many  of 
the  most  respectable  citizens.  During  the  day  the  Africans  were 
invited  to  visit  the  ‘  Boott  Corporation,’  and  were  conducted  over 
the  whole  establishment  (cotton  mills,)  by  the  agent,  Mr.  French. 
As  might  be  supposed,  they  were  astonished  beyond  measure. 
After  inspecting  the  machinery,  the  fabrics,  and  the  great  wheel, 
one  of  them  turned  to  me  and  said,  ‘  Did  man  make  this  ?’  On 
receiving  a  reply,  he  said,  ‘He  no  live  now  —  he  live  a  great 
while  ago.’  Afterwards  they  visited  the  carpet  factory,  and  ex¬ 
pressed  great  delight  at  the  beauty  and  excellence  of  the  carpets 
and  rugs.  Cinque  wished  to  purchase  a  miniature  hearth  rug, 
but  the  agent  allowed  him  to  select  one  of  the  large  and  beauti¬ 
ful  rugs  to  take  to  Mendi,  which  he  generously  presented  to  him. 
The  workmen  here  —  chiefly  Englishmen  —  made  a  collection  of 


APPENDIX  E. 


li 


fifty-eight  dollars  and  fifty  cents  on  the  spot,  and  presented  it  to 
the  Mendi  Fund. 

“In  pursuance  of  previous  arrangements,  we  turned  aside, 
Wednesday,  November  12,  to  attend  a  meeting  in  the  large  South 
Church  in  Andover,  at  9  o’clock,  A.  M.  The  house  was  crowded 
in  every  part.  Dr.  Edwards  led  in  prayer,  and  Dr.  Woods  inter¬ 
rogated  some  of  the  Mendians.  After  a  stay  of  two  hours  we 
returned  to  the  cars,  followed  by  a  large  multitude.  Collected 
eighty-four  dollars.  It  was  remarked  at  the  meeting  here,  as  in 
other  places,  that  the  contemplated  mission  to  Mendi  was  to  be 
an  anti-slavery  mission ;  that  no  money  would  be  solicited  or  re¬ 
ceived  of  slave  holders ;  that  the  committee  were  not  connected 
with  any  other  missionary  associations,  and  would  not  assume  a 
hostile  attitude  towards  any.  A  young  gentleman  here  offered  to 
go  to  Mendi  as  a  teacher. 

“  In  the  afternoon  a  meeting  was  held  in  Boston,  at  the  Marl¬ 
boro’  Chapel.  The  scholars  in  the  Sabbath  and  week-day  schools 
had  been  notified  of  it  and  attended  in  large  numbers,  together 
with  several  respectable  inhabitants  of  Boston  and  the  neighbor* 
ing  towns.  The  meeting  was  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev.  W.  B. 
Tap-'-in.  The  collection  was  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars.  In 
the  evening  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  Melodeon,  and  was  attend¬ 
ed  by  a  large  number  of  persons.  Collection  one  hundred  and 
thirty-three  dollars.  The  next  day,  Thursday  the  11th,  we  left 
for  Springfield.  The  meeting  was  held  in  the  evening,  at  the 
Town  Hall,  as  some  of  the  Parish  committee  objected  to  its  being 
held  in  the  church,  fearing  it  would  desecrate  the  place.  The 
Hall  was  crowded,  and  many  could  not  gain  admittance.  Dr.  Os¬ 
good  opened  the  meeting  with  prayer,  took  several  of  the  Mendi¬ 
ans  to  his  own  house,  and  manifested  a  deep  interest  on  their 
behalf,  as  did  many  of  the  other  inhabitants.  The  Mendians 
were  all  hospitably  entertained  in  this  place  without  expense. 
Some  ‘  fellows  of  the  baser  sort  ’  insulted  Kin-na  and  others  as 
they  went  to  the  Hall;  and  in  the  introduction  of  his  speech, 
Kin-na  spoke  of  the  treatment  he  had  received.  But  there  are 
many  warm-hearted  and  generous  friends  of  the  colored  race  in 
this  town.  ‘We  said  nothing  to  them,’  said  Kin-na;  ‘why  did 
they  treat  us  so?  What  can  we  do?  We  are  few  and  feeble. 
What  can  the  dog  do  when  the  lion  attacks  him ;  or  what  can  be 


lii 


APPENDIX  E. 


done  when  the  cat  and  the  mouse  come  together !  ’  Collection 
seventy-three  dollars.  The  Mendians  were  invited  by  Mr.  Bur¬ 
leigh  to  see  a  large  picture  exhibiting  here  —  ‘The  Descent  of 
Christ  from  the  Cross,’  copied  from  Rubens  —  and  were  highly 
gratified. 

“Here  we  received  a  cordial  invitation  from  two  of  the  minis¬ 
ters  of  Northampton  and  several  of  their  people  to  visit  that  place, 
with  the  assurance  that  the  First  Church,  the  largest  in  the  coun¬ 
ty,  should  be  opened  for  the  Mendians.  On  the  12th  we  rode  to 
N.  in  the  rain.  Mount  Tom  and  the  Connecticut  River  were 
pointed  out  to  Cinque,  who  said,  ‘In  my  country  we  have  very 
great  mountain  —  much  bigger  than  that  —  and  river  about  so 
wide,  but  very  deep.’  The  weather  cleared  away  towards  night, 
and  the  church  was  nearly  filled.  Rev.  Mr.  Pennington,  colored 
minister  of  Hartford,  opened  the  meeting  with  prayer.  Collec¬ 
tion  seventy-five  dollars,  in  addition  to  seventeen  dollars  from  the 
Female  Abolition  Society ;  fifty-three  dollars  collected  before  we 
arrived,  and  eighty-five  contributed  by  ‘a  friend,’  a  short  time 
since.  The  reception  here  was  warm-hearted.  Mr.  Warner, 
keeper  of  the  principal  hotel  in  that  place,  furnished  the  Mendi¬ 
ans  with  one  of  his  best  rooms,  seated  them  at  thf1  t?ble  with  his 
family  and  boarders,  and,  on  being  asked  for  his  biii  the  next  day, 
he  replied,  ‘  There  is  nothing  to  pay  !  ’  The  agents  of  the  Nash¬ 
ua  and  Andover  rail  roads  also  declined  taking  pay  for  the  pas¬ 
sages  of  the  Mendians.  On  Saturday,  we  rose  at  3  o’clock,  P.  M., 
and  returned  to  Springfield.  Here  we  took  the  steam  boat  for 
Hartford.  On  arriving,  application  was  made  to  Mr.  Colton, 
keeper  of  the  Temperance  Hotel,  to  accommodate  the  Mendians. 
He  demurred.  Mr.  Warner’s  noble  treatment  of  them  was  men¬ 
tioned.  Mr.  C.  said  he  could  not  place  them  at  his  table.  He 
was  told  that  this  was  not  insisted  upon  ;  that  if  he  would  furnish 
me  a  room  they  could  eat  there,  and  sleep  wherever  it  was  con¬ 
venient  to  Mr.  C.  But  he  absolutely  refused  to  entertain  them 
any  how.  As  this  house  has  been  patronized  by  abolitionists, 
they  ought  to  know  this  fact.  After  remaining  in  the  cold  on  the 
wharf  about  an  hour,  the  Mendians  were  received  and  hospitably 
entertained  by  several  families  without  charge. 

“  On  the  Sabbath,  November  14,  they  attended  public  worship 
in  Rev.  Mr.  Pennington’s  church.  In  the  afternoon  the  church 


APPENDIX  E. 


liii 


was  filled.  An  address  was  made  by  the  writer,  and  the  Mendi- 
ans  read  in  the  Testament  and  sang-  a  hymn.  Collection  eight 
dollars.  In  the  evening  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Centre  Church, 
Rev.  Dr.  Hawes’s.  Notices  were  read  in  the  other  churches,  and 
handbills  had  been  posted  the  previous  day.  The  church,  in  every 
part,  was  crowded,  and  large  numbers  were  unable  to  obtain  ad¬ 
mittance.  Dr.  Hawes  opened  the  meeting  with  prayer.  The 
services  were  of  an  interesting  character.  Collection  eighty 
dollars.  Dr.  Hawes  interrogated  Kin-na.  He  said,  *  The  Mendi 
people  believe  in  a  Great  Spirit,  although  they  do  not  worship 
him.  They  know  they  have  souls.  We  think,’  said  Kin-na,  ‘  we 
make  clothes.  Dog  can’t  do  this.  He  no  soul,  but  we  have.’ 
He  said  on  another  occasion,  when  asked  if  his  people  believed 
in  a  future  state,  ‘The  Mendi  people  all  Sadducees.’  Kin-na 
said  that  they  ‘  owe  every  thing  to  God.  He  keep  them  alive, 
and  give  them  free.  When  he  go  home  to  Mendi,  they  tell  their 
brethren  about  God,  Jesus  Christ,  and  heaven.’  Fu-li,  on  a  for¬ 
mer  evening,  being  asked,  ‘  What  is  faith  ?  ’  replied,  ‘  Believing  in 
Jesus  Christ,  and  trusting  in  him.’  Their  answers  to  questions 
show  that  they  have  read  and  that  they  understand  the  Scriptures, 
and  hopes  are  entertained  that  one  or  two  at  least  know  experi¬ 
mentally  the  value  of  religion.  The  fact  that  there  is  no  system 
of  idolatry  in  Mendi  for  missionaries  to  oppose  and  the  natives 
technically  to  adhere  to,  is  an  encouraging  fact  v/ith  regard  to 
the  contemplated  mission.  Another  pleasing  and  remarkable  fact 
exists :  labor  is  suspended  every  seventh  day,  and  has  been  from 
time  immemorial.  They  do  not  engage  in  any  religious  services, 
but  dress  in  their  best  apparel,  feast  on  that  day,  —  as  some  do 
here,  —  visit,  &c.  This  day,  15th,  Rev.  Mr.  Gallaudet  and  Mr. 
Brigham  have  invited  the  Mendians  to  visit  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 
Asylum  and  the  Insane  Institution.  On  a  person’s  giving,  by 
signs,  the  deaf  and  dumb  alphabet  to  Mar-gru,  one  of  the  girls, 
she,  in  a  few  minutes,  repeated  nearly  the  whole.  They  told  Mr. 
Brigham  that  there  were  insane  people  and  idiots  in  Mendi,  and  de¬ 
scribed  their  actions  and  the  treatment  of  them.  Two  of  the  Men¬ 
dians  will  be  detained  as  witnesses  in  Hartford  this  day,  in  a 
cause  appealed  from  a  lower  court.  Some  of  the  Mendians  were 
grossly  assaulted  at  Farmington  some  time  since,  on  a  training 
day ;  and  those  who  committed  the  assault  and  battery  were  con- 


liv 


APPENDIX  E. 


victed  and  fined.  An  appeal  was  taken.  When  thus  assailed, 
the  Mendians,  as  usual,  exhibited  their  peaceful  disposition,  and 
said,  ‘We  no  fight.’  On  Wednesday  there  is  to  be  a  large  fare¬ 
well  meeting  at  Farmington  —  on  which  occasion  Dr.  Hawes  is 
to  preach.  In  a  few  days  the  Mendians  will  embark  from  New 
York.  May  the  Lord  preserve  them,  and  carry  them  safely  to 
their  native  land,  to  their  kindred  and  homes.  Su-ma,  the  eldest, 
has  a  wife  and  five  children.  Cinque  has  a  wife  and  three  chil¬ 
dren.  They  all  have  parents  or  wives,  or  brothers  and  sisters. 
What  a  meeting  it  will  be  with  these  relations  and  friends,  when 
they  are  descried  on  the  hills  of  Mendi !  We  were  invited  to 
visit  other  places,  but  time  did  not  allow  of  longer  absence.  I 
must  not  forget  to  mention  that  the  whole  band  of  these  Mendi¬ 
ans  are  teetotallers.  At  a  tavern  where  we  stopped,  Ban-na  took 
me  aside,  and  with  a  sorrowful  countenance,  said,  ‘This  bad 
house  —  bar  house  —  no  good.’  But  the  steam  boat  is  at  the 
■wharf,  and  I  must  close.  The  collections  in  money,  on  this  excur¬ 
sion  of  twelve  days,  is  about  one  thousand  dollars,  after  deducting 
travelling  expenses.  More  money  is  needed  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  the  Mendians  to  their  native  land,  and  to  sustain  their  religious 
teachers.  Very  truly  yours, 

“Lewis  Tappan.” 

But  to  conclude  the  narrative  of  these  interesting  Africans. 
After  all  the  trickery  on  the  part  of  the  U.  S.  government,  it  was 
finally  decreed  by  the  Supreme  Court,  that  the  Mendians  were 
free  persons,  and  might  go  whither  they  pleased.  They  were 
unanimous  for  returning  to  their  native  country.  The  Mendian 
negroes,  thirty-five  in  number,  embarked  from  New  York  for 
Sierra  Leone,  on  the  27th  of  the  11th  month,  (November,)  1841, 
on  board  the  barque  Gentleman,  Captain  Morris,  accompanied  by 
five  missionaries  and  teachers.  The  British  government  has 
manifested  a  praiseworthy  interest  in  their  welfare,  and  will  assist 
them  to  reach  their  own  country  from  Sierra  Leone.  Their  stay 
in  the  United  States  has  been  of  immense  service  to  the  anti¬ 
slavery  cause,  and  there  is  reason  to  hope  that  under  their  au¬ 
spices,  Christianity  and  civilization  may  be  introduced  into  their 
native  country. 


APPENDIX  F. 


lv 


Appendix  F.  p.  76. 

Extract  from  an  Essay  by  William  Jay,  44  On  the  Folly  and 
Evils  of  War,  and  the  Means  of  Preserving  Peace.” 

“  But,  after  all  that  can  be  said  against  war,  and  after  the 
fullest  admission  of  its  folly,  cruelty,  and  wickedness,  still  the 
question  recurs,  how  can  it  be  prevented  ?  It  would  be  an  im¬ 
peachment  of  the  Divine  economy  to  suppose  that  an  evil  so 
dreadful  was  inseparably  and  inevitably  connected  with  human 
society.  We  are  informed,  by  Divine  authority,  that  Avars  pro¬ 
ceed  from  our  lusts  ;  but  our  lusts,  although  natural  to  us,  are  not 
invincible.  He  who  admits  the  free  agency  of  man,  will  not 
readily  allow  that  either  individuals  or  nations  are  compelled  to 
do  evil.  The  universal  prevalence  of  Christian  principles  must, 
of  necessity,  exterminate  Avars  ;  and  hence  we  are  informed,  by 
revelation,  that  when  righteousness  shall  cover  the  earth,  4  the 
nations  shall  learn  war  no  more.’ 

44  And  are  we  to  wait,  it  aviII  be  inquired,  till  this  distant  and 
uncertain  period  for  the  extinction  of  war?  We  answer,  that 
revelation  affords  us  no  ground  to  expect  that  all  mankind  will 
previously  be  governed  by  the  precepts  of  justice  and  humanity  ; 
but  that  experience,  reason,  and  revelation,  all  unite  in  leading 
us  to  believe  that  the  regeneration  of  the  world  will  be  a  gradual 
and  progressive  work.  Civilization  and  Christianity  are  diffusing 
their  influence  throughout  the  globe,  mitigating  the  sufferings 
and  multiplying  the  enjoyments  of  the  human  family.  Free  in¬ 
stitutions  are  taking  the  place  of  feudal  oppressions  —  education 
is  pouring  its  light  on  minds  hitherto  enveloped  in  all  the  dark¬ 
ness  of  ignorance  —  the  whole  system  of  slavery,  both  personal 
and  political,  is  undermined  by  public  opinion,  and  must  soon  be 
prostrated ;  and  the  signs  of  the  times  assure  us  that  the  enor¬ 
mous  mass  of  crime  and  wretchedness,  which  is  the  fruit  of 
drunkenness,  will,  at  no  very  remote  period,  disappear  from  the 
earth. 

44  And  can  it  be  possible,  that,  of  all  the  evils  under  which  hu¬ 
manity  groans,  war  is  the  only  one  which  religion  and  civilization, 
and  the  active  philanthropy  of  the  present  day,  can  neither  re- 


lvi 


APPENDIX  F. 


move  nor  mitigate  ?  Such  an  opinion,  if  general,  would  be  most 
disastrous  to  the  world,  and  it  will  now  be  our  endeavor  to  prove 
that  it  is  utterly  groundless.  *  *  #  # 

“We  have  often  seen  extensive  national  alliances  for  the 
prosecution  of  war,  and  no  sufficient  reason  can  be  assigned  why 
such  alliances  might  not  be  formed  for  the  preservation  of  peace. 
It  is  obvious  that  war  might  instantly  be  banished  from  Europe, 
would  its  nations  regard  themselves  as  members  of  one  great  So¬ 
ciety,  and  erect  a  court  for  the  trial  and  decision  of  their  respect¬ 
ive  differences. 

“  But  we  are  told  that  such  an  agreement  among  the  nations 
is  impossible.  It  is  unquestionably  so  at  present,  for  the  obvious 
reason,  that  time  is  necessary  to  enlighten  and  direct  public 
opinion,  and  produce  a  general  acquiescence  in  the  plan,  as  well 
as  to  arrange  the  various  stipulations  and  guaranties  that  would 
be  requisite.  It  is  certainly  not  surprising,  that  those  who  sup¬ 
pose  a  congress  of  nations  for  the  maintenance  of  peace,  can  only 
be  brought  about  by  a  simultaneous  movement  of  the  various 
states  and  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  who  are  to  continue  to  battle 
with  each  other  till  the  signal  is  given  for  universal  peace  and 
harmony,  should  be  startled  at  the  boldness  and  absurdity  of  the 
project.  But  this  boldness  and  absurdity  belong  not  to  the  pro¬ 
ject  we  advocate.  We  have  no  expectation  whatever  of  any  gen¬ 
eral,  much  less  simultaneous  effort  of  mankind  in  behalf  of  peace. 
A  congress  for  the  decision  of  national  differences,  instead  of 
arising  in  the  midst  of  the  present  military  policy  of  Europe,  must 
be  preceded  by  an  extensive,  although  partial  abandonment  of 
war,  and  will  be  the  effect  and  not  the  cause  of  the  general  diffu¬ 
sion  of  pacific  sentiments. 

“  Hence  it  is  in  vain  to  look  for  a  sudden  and  universal  cessa¬ 
tion  of  war,  even  among  civilized  and  Christian  nations.  But  rea¬ 
son  and  experience  warrant  the  hope  that  some  one  State  may  be 
led  to  adopt  a  pacific  policy,  and  thus  set  an  example  which 
through  the  blessing  of  Providence,  and  the  prevalence  of  Chris¬ 
tian  principles,  may  usher  in  the  reign  of  universal  peace. 

“  But  by  whom,  and  in  what  way  it  will  be  asked,  is  this  ex¬ 
ample  to  be  set  P  It  may  be  a  feeling  of  national  vanity,  and  it 
may  be  a  reference  to  the  peculiarities  of  our  local,  social,  and 


APPENDIX  F. 


Ivii 


political  condition,  that  inspires  the  hope,  that  to  the  United 
States  is  to  be  reserved  the  glory  of  teaching  to  mankind  the 
blessings  of  peace,  and  the  means  of  preserving  them.  -*  * 

“But  in  what  ivay  are  we  to  make  the  experiment?  Certainly 
in  the  way  least  likely  to  excite  alarm  and  opposition.  In  every 
effort  to  promote  the  temporal  or  spiritual  welfare  of  others,  we 
should  consider  things  as  they  really  are,  and  not  merely  as  they 
ought  to  be,  and  we  should  consult  expediency  as  far  as  we  can 
do  so,  without  compromising  principle.  *  *  * 

“  Of  all  the  nations  with  whom  we  have  relations,  none  proba¬ 
bly  enjoy  in  an  equal  degree  our  good  will,  as  France.  No  spirit 
of  rivalry  in  commerce  or  manufactures  exists  between  us,  no  ad¬ 
jacent  territory  furnishes  occasion  for  border  aggressions  and  mu¬ 
tual  criminations,  while  our  past  relations  afford  subjects  of  pleas¬ 
ing  and  grateful  recollection,  and  at  present  we  see  no  prospect 
of  the  interruption  of  that  harmony  which  has  so  long  subsisted 
between  the  two  nations. 

“  Let  us  suppose  that  under  these  propitious  circumstances,  a 
convention  should  now  be  concluded  between  the  two  govern¬ 
ments,  by  which  it  should  be  agreed,  that  if  unhappily  any  differ¬ 
ence  should  hereafter  arise  between  us,  that  could  not  be  adjusted 
by  negociation,  neither  party  should  resort  to  arms,  but  that  they 
should  agree  on  some  friendly  power,  to  whom  the  matter  in  dif¬ 
ference  should  be  referred,  and  whose  decision  should  be  final ; 
or  that  if  it  should  so  happen  that  the  parties  could  not  concur  in 
selecting  an  umpire,  that  then  each  party  should  select  a  friendly 
power,  and  that  the  sovereigns  or  states  thus  selected,  should,  if 
necessary,  call  to  their  aid  the  assistance  of  a  third. 

“To  what  well  founded  objections  would  such  a  treaty  be 
subject?  It  is  true  that  treaties  of  this  kind  have  been  of  rare 
occurrence,  but  all  experience  is  in  their  favor.  Vattel  remarks 
(Law  of  Nations,  book  II.,  chap.  18,)  ‘  Arbitration  is  a  method 
very  reasonable,  very  conformable  to  the  law  of  nature,  in  deter¬ 
mining  differences  that  do  not  directly  interest  the  safety  of  the 
nation.  Though  the  strict  right  may  be  mistaken  by  the  arbitra¬ 
tor,  it  is  still  more  to  be  feared  that  it  will  be  overwhelmed  by  the 
fate  of  arms.  The  Swiss  have  had  the  precaution  in  all  their  al¬ 
liances  among  themselves,  and  even  in  those  they  have  con¬ 
tracted  with  the  neighboring  powers,  to  agree  beforehand  on  the 


lviii 


APPENDIX  F. 


manner  in  which  their  disputes  were  to  be  submitted  to  arbitra¬ 
tors,  in  case  they  could  not  adjust  them  in  an  amicable  manner. 
This  wise  precaution  has  not  a  little  contributed  to  maintain  the 
Helvetic  Republic  in  that  flourishing  state  which  secures  its  liberty , 
and  renders  it  respectable  throughout  Europe .’ 

“  But  it  may  be  said,  a  nation  ought  not  to  permit  others  to 
decide  on  her  rights  and  claims.  Why  not?  Will  the  decision 
be  less  consistent  with  justice,  from  being  impartial  and  disinter¬ 
ested  ?  It  is  a  maxim  confirmed  by  universal  experience,  that  no 
man  should  be  judge  in  his  own  cause;  and  are  nations  less  under 
the  influence  of  interest  and  of  passion  than  individuals?  Are 
they  not,  in  fact,  still  less  under  the  control  of  moral  obligation  ? 
Treaties  have  often  been  violated  by  statesmen  and  senators,  wflio 
would  have  shrunk  from  being  equally  faithless  in  their  private 
contracts.  Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  the  government  of  a  friendly 
power,  in  a  controversy  between  us  and  France,  in  which  it  had 
no  interest,  and  with  the  observation  of  the  civilized  world  direct¬ 
ed  to  its  decision,  would  be  less  likely  to  pronounce  a  fair  and 
impartial  judgment  than  either  France  or  ourselves  ? 

“But  we  can  decide  our  own  controversies  for  ourselves,  it  is 
said ;  that  is,  we  can  go  to  war  and  take  our  chance  for  the  result. 
Alas,  ‘it  is  an  error,’  says  Vattel,  ‘no  less  absurd  than  pernicious, 
to  say  that  war  is  to  decide  controversies  between  those  who,  as  in 
the  case  of  nations,  acknowledge  no  judge.  It  is  power  or  pru¬ 
dence  rather  than  right  that  victory  usually  declares  for.’  —  Book 
III.  Chap.  3. 

“The  United  States  chose  to  decide  for  themselves  the  con¬ 
troversy  about  impressment,  by  appealing  to  the  sword.  In  this 
appeal  they  of  course  placed  no  reliance  on  the  propriety  and  jus¬ 
tice  of  their  claims,  since  such  considerations  could  have  no  influ¬ 
ence  on  the  fate  of  battle ;  but  they  depended  solely  on  their 
capacity  to  inflict  more  injury  than  they  would  receive  them¬ 
selves,  and  this  difference  in  the  amount  of  injury  was  to  turn  the 
scale  in  our  favor.  Our  expectations,  however,  were  disappointed. 
Our  commerce  was  annihilated,  our  frontier  towns  were  laid  in 
ashes,  our  capital  taken,  our  attempts  upon  Canada  were  repulsed, 
with  loss  and  disgrace  ;  our  people  became  burthened  with  taxes, 
and  we  were  at  last  glad  to  accept  a  treaty  of  peace  which,  in¬ 
stead  of  containing,  as  we  had  fondly  hoped,  a  formal  surrender 


APPENDIX  F.  liX 

on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  of  the  right  of  impressment,  made  not 
the  slightest  allusion  to  the  subject. 

“  Let  us  now  suppose  that  a  treaty  similar  to  the  one  we  have 
proposed  with  France  had,  in  1812,  existed  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States ;  the  question  of  impressment  would  then 
have  been  submitted  to  one  or  more  friendly  powers. 

“It  is  scarcely  possible  that  the  umpires  could  have  given 
any  decision  of  this  question  that  would  have  been  as  injurious  to 
either  party  as  was  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  Had  the  claims 
of  Great  Britain  been  sanctioned,  some  American  seamen  would, 
no  doubt,  have  been  occasionally  compelled  to  serve  in  the  British 
navy;  but  how  very  small  would  have  been  their  number  com¬ 
pared  with  the  thousands  who  perished  in  the  war;  and  how 
utterly  insignificant  would  have  been  their  sufferings  resulting 
from  serving  on  board  a  British  instead  of  an  American  vessel, 
when  weighed  against  the  burdens,  the  slaughters,  the  conflagra¬ 
tions,  inflicted  on  their  country  in  the  contest?  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  decision  had  been  in  our  favor,  Great  Britain  would 
have  lost  a  few  seamen  from  her  navy,  but  she  would  have  saved 
the  lives  of  a  far  greater  number,  and  she  would  have  been  spared 
an  amount  of  treasure  which  would  have  commanded  the  services 
of  ten  times  as  many  sailors  as  she  could  ever  hope  to  recover  by 
impressment. 

“It  is  not,  however,  probable,  that  the  umpires,  anxious  to  do 
right,  and  having  no  motive  to  do  wrong,  would  have  sanctioned, 
without  qualification,  the  claims  of  either  party. 

“We  can  scarcely  anticipate  any  future  national  difference 
which  it  would  not  be  more  prudent  and  expedient  to  submit  to 
arbitration  than  to  the  chance  of  war.  However  just  may  be  our 
cause,  however  united  our  people,  we  cannot  foresee  the  issue  of 
the  contest,  nor  tell  what  new  enemies  we  may  be  called  to  en¬ 
counter,  what  sacrifices  to  bear,  what  concessions  to  make. 

“  We  have  already  partially  commenced  the  experiment  of 
arbitrament,  by  referring  no  less  than  three  of  our  disputes  to  the 
determination  of  as  many  friendly  powers.  A  difference  as  to  the 
meaning  of  an  article,  in  our  last  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Brit¬ 
ain,  was  referred  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  who  decided  it  in 
our  favor.  The  question  of  our  northern  boundary  was  referred 
to  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  ;  and  although  the  line  he  as- 


lx 


APPENDIX  F. 


signed  was  not  the  one  claimed  by  either  party,  it  was  vastly  less 
injurious  to  each,  than  would  have  been  one  month’s  hostility  on 
account  of  it.  Our  disputes  with  Mexico  were  verging  rapidly 
to  open  war,  when  they  were  happily  submitted  to  the  King  of 
Prussia,  and  are  now  in  the  course  of  satisfactory  adjustment. 

“  A  treaty  with  France  of  the  character  proposed,  would 
greatly  increase  our  importance  in  the  estimation  of  all  Europe — 
as  it  would  permanently  secure  us  from  her  hostility.  It  would 
be  seen  and  felt,  that  whatever  other  nation  might  enter  into  col¬ 
lision  with  us,  it  could  not  expect  the  aid  of  France,  but  that  un¬ 
der  all  circumstances  we  should  enjoy  the  friendship  and  com¬ 
merce  of  our  ancient  ally.  These  considerations  would  not  be 
without  their  influence  on  England.  She  has  colonies  near  us 
which  we  may  capture,  or  essentially  injure,  and  which  cannot 
be  defended  by  her,  but  at  very  inconvenient  expense.  A  war 
with  us  must  ever  be  undesired  by  her,  for  the  obvious  reason 
that  in  such  a  contest  she  has  little  to  gain  and  much  to  lose. 
Our  treaty  also  with  France  would  deprive  England  of  the  aid  of 
the  only  nation  that  could  afford  her  effectual  assistance  in  a  war 
against  us.  She  would  therefore,  find  it  her  interest  to  avail  her¬ 
self  of  a  similar  treaty,  and  thus  to  secure  herself  from  hostilities 
which  on  many  accounts  she  must  wish  to  avoid.  Once  assured 
by  such  treaties  of  permanent  peace  with  France  and  England, 
we  should  find  our  alliance  courted  by  the  other  powers  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  who  would  not  readily  consent  that  those  two  nations  should 
have  exclusively  the  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  our  great  and 
growing  commerce.  They  would  think  it  a  matter  of  prudence 
also,  to  avoid  the  risk  of  collision  with  a  powerful  republic,  that 
had  already  secured  the  permanent  friendship  of  France  and 
England  ;  and  they  would  hasten  to  contract  similar  treaties. 
Under  such  circumstances,  every  consideration  of  policy  would 
prompt  our  South  American  neighbors  to  desire  that  their  ami¬ 
cable  relations  with  us  might  remain  uninterrupted  ;  and  to  them 
we  might  offer  the  same  stipulations  with  full  confidence  of  their 
cordial  acceptance. 

“  And  will  it  be  said  that  all  this  is  visionary  and  impossible  ? 
The  plan  we  propose  rests  on  no  supposed  reformation  in  the  pas¬ 
sions  and  propensities  of  mankind  ;  but  upon  obvious  principles 
of  national  interest,  deduced  from  reason  and  experience,  and 


APPENDIX  F. 


lxi 


susceptible  of  the  plainest  demonstration.  It  is  a  plan  adapted  to 
the  existing  state  of  civilized  society,  and  accommodated  to  the 
passions  and  prejudices  by  which  that  society  is  influenced.  It 
is  indeed  perfectly  consistent  with  the  precepts  of  Christianity, 
but  it  is  also  in  accordance  with  the  selfish  dictates  of  worldly 
policy. 

“  To  this  plan  we  can  imagine  only  one  plausible  objection, 
which  is,  that  the  treaties  would  not  be  observed.  It  is  readily 
admitted  that  if  the  only  guaranty  for  the  faithful  observance  of 
these  treaties  consisted  in  the  virtue  and  integrity  of  those  who 
signed  them,  the  confidence  to  be  reposed  in  them  would  be  faint 
indeed.  Happily,  however,  we  have  a  far  stronger  guaranty  in 
national  interest  and  in  public  opinion.  *  *  # 

“  Dismissing  then  all  idle  fears  that  these  treaties,  honestly 
contracted  and  obviously  conducive  to  the  highest  interests  of  the 
parties,  would  not  be  observed,  let  us  contemplate  the  rich  and 
splendid  blessings  they  would  confer  on  our  country.  Protected 
from  hostile  violence  and  invasion  by  a  moral  defence,  more  pow¬ 
erful  than  armies  and  navies,  we  might  indeed  beat  our  swords 
into  ploughshares  and  our  spears  into  pruning  hooks.  The  mil¬ 
lions  now  expended  in  our  military  establishments  could  be  ap¬ 
plied  to  objects  directly  ministering  to  human  convenience  and 
happiness.  Our  whole  militia  system,  with  its  long  train  of  vices 
and  its  vexatious  interruptions  of  labor,  would  be  swept  away. 
The  arts  of  peace  would  alone  be  cultivated,  and  would  yield 
comforts  and  enjoyments  in  a  profusion  and  perfection  of  which 
mankind  have  witnessed  no  example.  In  the  expressive  language 
of  Scripture,  our  citizens  would  each  ‘  sit  under  his  own  vine  and 
under  his  own  fig  tree,  with  none  to  make  him  afraid,’  and  our 
peaceful  and  happy  republic  would  be  the  praise  and  glory  of  all 
lands.  *  *  #  *  -* 

“  It  is  impossible  that  a  scene  so  bright  and  lovely  should  not 
attract  the  admiration  and  attention  of  the  world.  The  extension 
of  education  in  Europe,  and  the  growing  freedom  of  her  institu¬ 
tions,  are  leading  her  population  to  think,  and  to  express  their 
thoughts.  The  governments  of  the  eastern  continent,  whatever 
may  be  their  form,  are  daily  becoming  more  and  more  sensitive 
to  public  opinion.  The  people  already  restive  under  their  bur¬ 
dens,  would  soon  discover  that  those  burdens  would  be  greatly 

F 


APPENDIX  F. 


lxii 

diminished  by  the  adoption  of  the  American  policy.  Before  long, 
some  state  would  commence  the  experiment  on  a  small  scale,  and 
its  example  would  be  followed  by  others.  In  time  these  conven¬ 
tions  would  give  way  to  more  extended  pacific  alliances,  and  a 
greater  number  of  umpires  would  be  selected  ;  nor  is  it  the  vain 
hope  of  idle  credulity,  that  at  last  a  union  might  be  formed,  em¬ 
bracing  every  Christian  nation,  for  guarantying  the  peace  of 
Christendom,  by  establishing  a  tribunal  for  the  adjustment  of  na¬ 
tional  differences,  and  by  preventing  all  forcible  resistance  to  its 
decrees. 

“  It  is  unnecessary  to  discuss,  at  this  time,  the  character  and 
powers  with  which  such  a  tribunal  should  be  invested.  When¬ 
ever  it  shall  be  desired,  little  difficulty  will  be  experienced  in  de¬ 
vising  for  it  a  satisfactory  organization ;  that  it  is  possible  to 
form  such  a  court,  and  that  next  to  Christianity  it  would  be  the 
richest  gift  ever  bestowed  by  Heaven  upon  our  suffering  world, 
will  be  doubted  by  few  who  have  patiently  and  candidly  investi¬ 
gated  the  subject. 

“  But  many  who  admit  the  advantages  and  practicability  of 
the  plan  we  have  proposed,  will  be  tempted  to  despair  of  success, 
by  the  apparent  difficulty  of  inducing  an  effort  for  its  accomplish¬ 
ment.  Similar  difficulties,  however,  have  been  experienced  and 
overcome.  The  abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  and  the  suppression 
of  intemperance  were  once  as  apparently  hopeless  as  the  cessa¬ 
tion  of  war.  Let  us  again  recur  for  instruction  and  encourage¬ 
ment  to  the  course  pursued  by  the  friends  of  freedom  and  tempe¬ 
rance.  Had  the  British  abolitionists  employed  themselves  in  ad¬ 
dressing  memorials  to  the  various  courts  of  Europe,  soliciting 
them  to  unite  in  a  general  agreement  to  abandon  the  traffic,  they 
would  unquestionably  have  labored  in  vain,  and  spent  their 
strength  for  nought.  They  adopted  another  and  a  wiser  course. 
They  labored  to  awaken  the  consciences  of  their  own  country¬ 
men,  and  to  persuade  them  to  do  justice  and  to  love  mercy  ;  and 
thus  to  set  an  example  to  the  rest  of  Europe,  infinitely  more  effi¬ 
cacious  than  all  the  arguments  and  remonstrances  which  reason 
and  eloquence  could  dictate. 

“  In  vain  might  moralists  and  philanthropists  have  declaimed 
for  ages  on  the  evils  of  drunkenness,  had  no  temperance  society 
been  formed  till  all  mankind  were  ready  to  adopt  a  pledge  of  total 


APPENDIX  F. 


Ixiii 


abstinence.  The  authors  of  the  temperance  reformation  did  not 
lavish  their  strength  and  resources  in  attempting  to  convince  the 
world  of  the  blessings  of  temperance,  but  forming  themselves  into 
a  temperance  society,  gave  a  visible  and  tangible  proof  that  the 
principle  they  recommended  was  not  merely  expedient  but  prac¬ 
ticable.  And  surely  if  we  desire  to  persuade  mankind  that  war 
is  an  unnecessary  evil,  it  is  indispensable  that  we  should  be  able 
to  point  them  to  some  instance  in  which  it  has  been  safely  dis¬ 
pensed  with  ;  nor  can  we  hope  to  effect  a  change  in  the  opinion 
of  Europe,  while  our  own  people  remain  unaffected  by  our  asser¬ 
tions  and  arguments. 

“  Here  then  must  be  the  field  of  our  labors ;  and  let  those 
labors  be  quickened  by  the  reflection,  that  while  they  are  aimed 
at  the  happiness  of  the  human  race,  they  are  calculated  to  confer 
on  our  beloved  country  a  moral  sublimity  which  no  worldly  glory 
can  approach. 

“  But  what  are  the  means  we  shall  use  ?  The  same  by  which 
the  commerce  in  human  beings  was  destroyed,  and  which  are  now 
driving  intemperance  from  the  earth  —  voluntary  associations  and 
the  press. 

Let  the  friends  of  peace  concentrate  their  exertions  in  Peace 
Societies ;  and  let  the  press  proclaim  throughout  our  land,  in  all 
its  length  and  breadth,  the  folly,  the  wickedness,  and  the  horrors 
of  war  ;  and  call  on  our  rulers  to  provide  for  the  amicable  adjust¬ 
ment  of  national  differences.  In  the  first  treaty  that  shall  be 
formed  for  this  purpose  we  shall  behold  the  dawn  of  that  glorious 
day,  the  theme  of  prophets  and  the  aspirations  of  saints,  when  na¬ 
tion  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn 
war  any  more. 

“  The  present  age  is  propitious  to  the  enterprise.  It  is  an  age 
of  energy  and  of  freedom.  All  the  powers  of  mind  are  in  full  ac¬ 
tivity,  and  every  eye  and  every  ear  is  open  to  the  reception  of 
new  truths.  Science  and  philanthropy  are  daily  achieving  tri¬ 
umphs  which  the  past  century  dared  not  imagine.  The  world  is 
no  longer  governed  by  princes  and  senates,  but  by  public  opinion, 
and  at  the  fiat  of  this  mighty  potentate,  ancient  institutions  are 
levelled  in  the  dust.  Let  this  despot  wield  only  a  delegated  au¬ 
thority,  and  each  individual,  however  humble,  can  enhance  or 


Ixiv 


APPENDIX  F. 


diminish  his  power.  Who,  then,  will  refuse  to  lend  his  assistance 
to  enable  public  opinion  to  say  to  the  troubled  nations,  ‘  peace  — 
be  still and  to  compel  the  rulers  of  the  earth  to  refer  their  dis¬ 
putes  to  another  tribunal  than  the  sword. 

“  In  this  cause  every  man  can  labor,  and  it  is  a  cause  in  which 
every  man  is  called  to  labor,  by  interest  and  by  duty.  But  it  is  a 
cause  that  peculiarly  claims  the  zeal  and  devotion  of  Christians. 
They  are  the  servants  of  Him  who  is  not  only  the  mighty  God 
and  the  everlasting  Father,  but  the  Prince  of  Peace.  They  know 
that  war  is  opposed  to  all  his  attributes,  and  contradicts  the  pre¬ 
cepts  of  his  word.  Conscience  gives  her  sanction  to  the  means 
we  have  proposed,  and  prophecy  assures  us  of  the  accomplish¬ 
ment  of  the  object  to  which  they  are  directed.  Why,  then,  will 
not  Christians  use  the  talents  and  influence  given  them  from 
above  to  effect  this  consummation  ?  Let  them  not  plead,  in  excuse 
for  listlessness  and  indifference,  that  it  is  God  alone  who  ‘  maketh 
wars  to  cease  to  the  end  of  the  earth.’  In  the  moral  government 
of  the  world,  the  purposes  of  its  Almighty  Ruler  are  accomplished 
by  his  blessing  upon  human  means.  He  has  promised  that  right¬ 
eousness  shall  cover  the  whole  earth ;  and  in  reliance  on  this 
promise,  his  servants  are  now  bearing  the  everlasting  Gospel  to 
every  nation  and  kindred,  and  tongue  and  people.  He  has  also 
promised  that  nations  shall  learn  war  no  more,  and  in  his  faithful¬ 
ness  we  have  all  the  incentive  which  certainty  of  ultimate  success 
can  give  to  human  exertion.  And  in  what  cause  can  the  energies 
of  Christian  benevolence  be  more  appropriately  exercised  ?  To 
prevent  war  is  to  avoid  the  effusion  of  human  blood,  and  the  com¬ 
mission  of  innumerable  crimes  and  atrocities;  —  it  is  to  diffuse 
peace,  and  comfort,  and  happiness,  through  the  great  family  of 
man,  —  it  is  to  foster  the  arts  and  sciences  which  minister  to  the 
wants  of  society,  —  it  is  to  check  the  progress  of  vice,  —  to  speed 
the  advance  of  the  gospel,  —  to  rescue  immortal  souls  from  end¬ 
less  misery,  —  and  to  secure  to  them  a  felicity  as  durable  as  it  is 
inconceivable. 

“  To  him  who  in  faith  and  zeal  labors  in  this  great  and  holy 
cause  a  rich  reward  is  secured.  While  doing  good  to  others,  he 
is  himself  a  sharer  in  the  blessing  he  bestows.  The  very  exer¬ 
cise  of  his  benevolent  affections  affords  a  pure  and  exquisite  de- 


APPENDIX  G. 


lxv 


light,  and  when  he  enters  the  world  of  peace  and  love,  he  shall 
experience  the  full  import  of  those  cheering,  but  mysterious 
words  —  “Blessed  are  the  peace  makers,  for  they  shall  be  called 
the  children  of  God.” 


Appendix  G.  p.  89. 

OPIUM  WAR  WITH  CHINA. 

“  TO  THE  CHRISTIAN  PUBLIC  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

“  In  again  appealing  to  you  in  reference  to  the  opium  war  in 
China,  I  will  begin  by  quoting  the  following  extracts  from  a  letter 
which  I  addressed  to  you  on  the  19th  of  the  Third  Month,  1840. 

“  ‘  It  is  now  too  notorious  to  render  needful  entering  at  large 
into  the  subject,  that  the  guilty  traffic  in  opium,  grown  by  the 
East  India  Company,  to  be  smuggled  into  China,  at  length  com¬ 
pelled  the  Chinese  Government  to  vindicate  the  laws  of  the  Em¬ 
pire,  which  prohibit  its  introduction,  and  to  take  decisive  measures 
for  the  suppression  of  the  traffic,  by  the  arrest  of  the  parties  con¬ 
cerned  in  it  at  Canton,  and  the  seizure  and  destruction  of  the 
opium  found  in  the  Chinese  waters.*  It  is  also  well  known  that 
the  superintendent  of  the  British  trade,  (Capt.  Elliott)  so  far  com¬ 
promised  his  official  character  and  duty,  as  to  take  under  his  pro¬ 
tection  one  of  the  most  extensive  opium  smugglers,  and  thus  ren¬ 
dered  himself  justly  liable  to  the  penalties  to  which  they  were 
obnoxious  ;  and  at  the  same  time  gave,  as  far  as  was  in  his  power, 
the  sanction  of  the  British  nation  to  this  unrighteous  violation  of 
the  Chinese  laws. 

“  ‘  The  following  fact  is,  however,  not  so  generally  known. 
An  individual, f  now  in  this  country,  who  has  acquired  immense 
wealth  by  this  unlawful  trade,  has  been  in  communication  with 
the  Government,  and  his  advice,  it  is  presumed,  has  in  no  small 

*  11  See  1  ThelwalPs  Iniquities  of  the  Opium  Trade/  and  1  King’s  Opium 
Crisis.’  ” 

f  “  This  individual  is  in  the  new  House  of  Commons,  professedly  as  a 
reformer,  and  represents  a  borough  which  formerly  sent  to  that  House  one 
of  its  most  upright  members,  who  has  now  retired  from  public  life. 

F  2 


Ixvi 


APPENDIX  G. 


degree  influenced  the  measures  they  have  adopted ;  though  a 
leading  partner  in  a  firm  to  which  a  large  proportion  of  the  opium 
that  was  destroyed  belonged ;  and  at  the  very  time  he  was  claim¬ 
ing  compensation,  or  urging  a  war  with  China,  his  house  in  India 
was  sending  armed  vessels  loaded  with  opium,  along  the  coast  of 
China,  and  selling  it  in  open  defiance  of  the  laws  of  that  Empire. 
This  information,  with  the  names  of  the  vessels  and  the  parties 
concerned,  the  number  of  chests  of  opium  on  board,  the  enormous 
profits  they  were  realizing,  et  cet.,  was  some  time  ago  communi¬ 
cated  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  on  authority 
which  he  did  not  and  could  not  dispute.’ 

“  On  the  7th  of  April,  Sir  James  Graham  brought  forward  a 
motion  in  the  House  of  Commons,  in  reference  to  this  subject, 
but  in  a  manner  which  gave  it  so  much  of  a  party  character,  that 
our  cruel  injustice  to  the  Chinese,  and  the  disgraceful  conduct  of 
our  Government  in  attacking  them,  was  lost  sight  of  by  many, 
whose  professed  principles  ought  to  have  made  them  foremost  in 
condemning  these  proceedings.  The  Whig  Ministry  having  in¬ 
timated  they  would  resign  if  Sir  J.  Graham  carried  his  motion, 
every  other  consideration  was  forgotten  in  anxiety  lest  a  political 
party  should  be  injured  or  lose  office. 

“  This  feeling  not  only  pervaded  the  supporters  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment  in  the  House  of  Commons,  but  also  extended  to  many  lead¬ 
ing  religious  professors  of  various  denominations  ;  and  thus  no 
public  feeling  sufficiently  strong  could  be  raised  to  counteract  in 
Downing-street,  the  combined  and  powerful  influence  of  the  East 
India  Company  and  the  wealthy  opium  smugglers  ;  though  public 
meetings  were  held  in  London  and  many  places  in  the  country, 
and  petitions  forwarded  justly  deprecating  this  war,  as  one  of 
almost  unparalleled  iniquity.  At  the  meeting  in  the  metropolis, 
which  was  held  at  Freemason’s  Hall,  and  at  which  the  Earl  of 
Stanhope  presided,  the  following  resolutions  were  passed :  — 

“  ‘  1.  That  this  meeting,  whilst  it  most  distinctly  disavows  any 
party  or  political  objects,  and  deprecates  most  strongly  any  such 
construction  being  put  upon  its  efforts,  deeply  laments  that  the 
moral  and  religious  feeling  of  the  country  should  be  outraged  — 
the  character  of  Christianity  disgraced  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  — 
and  this  kingdom  involved  in  war  with  upwards  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty  millions  of  people,  in  consequence  of  British  subjects  in- 


APPENDIX  G.  lxvtf 

troducing  Opium  into  China,  in  direct  and  known  violation  of  the 
laws  of  that  Empire. 

“‘2.  That,  although  the  Chinese  have  not  been  heard  in  their 
defence,  the  statements  adduced  by  the  advocates  of  the  war, 
clearly  establish  the  fact,  that  the  East  India  Company,  the 
growers  of  and  traffickers  in  opium,  and  British  subjects  who  re¬ 
ceived  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  China,  have  been,  throughout, 
the  wrong  doers  ;  therefore  this  meeting  (without  reference  to  the 
conviction  of  many,  that  all  war  is  opposed  to  the  spirit  and  pre¬ 
cepts  of  the  gospel,)  holds  it  to  be  the  bounden  duty  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  immediately  to  effect  an  equitable  and  pacific  settlement 
of  the  existing  differences  with  China. 

“‘3.  That  all  traffic  in  opium  with  the  Chinese  being  contra¬ 
band,  the  opium  which  was  surrendered  to  their  government  was 
justly  confiscated  ;  and  that  to  demand  payment  from  the  Chinese, 
to  make  reprisals  upon  them,  or,  for  this  country  to  give  compen¬ 
sation  to  the  British  merchants  thus  engaged  in  smuggling,  would 
be  to  sanction  and  even  grant  a  premium  on  crime. 

“  ‘  4.  That  the  petition  now  read  be  adopted  by  this  meeting, 
and  presented  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament ;  and  that  the  Right 
Honorable  Earl  Stanhope  be  requested  to  present  the  same  to 
the  House  of  Lords,  and  Lord  Sandon  to  the  House  of  Com¬ 
mons. 

“ 1  5.  That  the  resolutions  of  this  meeting  be  published  at  the 
discretion  of  the  Committee ;  and  that  a  copy  of  them  in  the  Chi¬ 
nese  language  be  transmitted,  through  the  High  Commissioner 
Lin,  to  the  Emperor  of  China.’ 

“  Since  this  period,  I  have  been  in  company  with  several  Eng¬ 
lishmen  who  were  at  Canton  at  the  time  of  the  seizure  of  the  opi¬ 
um  ;  and  though  some  of  them  were  concerned  in  the  trade  them¬ 
selves,  and  were  naturally  biassed  in  favor  of  their  own  country, 
they  all  agreed  in  condemning  the  proceedings  of  the  English. 
I  have  recently  spent  some  time  in  the  United  States,  whose  in¬ 
tercourse  with  China  is  extensive  and  frequent,  and  where  the 
merits  of  this  case  are  clearly  understood  by  many  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  candid-minded  citizens ;  and  these,  without  any 
exception,  considered  the  acts  of  the  British  government  in  this 
matter  as  some  of  the  most  flagrant  that  ever  disgraced  a  civil¬ 
ized,  much  less  a  Christian  people. 


lxviii 


APPENDIX  G. 


“  On  my  return  to  this  country  1  found  a  new  administration 
entering  upon  office;  the  members  of  which  have,  for  the  most 
part,  condemned  the  conduct  of  their  predecessors  in  relation  to 
this  war ;  and  I  again,  therefore,  venture  to  appeal  to  the  Chris¬ 
tian  public  of  my  country  that  they  may,  without  delay,  forward 
petitions,  or  memorials,  strongly  urging  a  reference  of  the  exist¬ 
ing  differences  with  China  to  commissioners  mutually  appointed, 
who  shall  be  authorized  to  adjust  them,  and  also  to  determine 
upon  the  best  means  of  entirely  suppressing  the  guilty  traffic  in 
opium.  The  present  government  are  not  yet  committed  to  this 
cruel  war;  and  may  no  difference  of  political  views  deter  you 
from  the  faithful  discharge  of  this  Christian  duty !  Even  should 
you  not  succeed  in  inducing  our  rulers  to  adopt  this  course,  or 
the  overtures  of  this  country  be  rejected  by  the  Chinese,  you  will 
have  satisfaction  in  having  made  the  attempt. 

“  One-third  of  the  human  race  are  now  receiving  their  impres¬ 
sions  of  the  Christian  religion,  by  its  professors  waging  a  mur¬ 
derous  war  to  compel  them  to  make  restitution  to  the  contraband 
opium  dealers,  for  the  destruction  of  this  deadly  poison,  which 
continues  to  be  grown  by  the  East  India  Company,  and  poured 
into  China  in  defiance  of  all  laws,  human  and  divine.  Besides 
the  loss  of  life  sustained  by  the  Chinese,  and  the  fearful  mortality 
amongst  the  British  troops,  from  the  unhealthiness  of  the  climate, 
it  is  probable  that  little  short  of  ten  millions  sterling  has  already 
been  expended  in  naval  and  military  armaments,  and  the  en¬ 
hanced  price  of  tea  and  sugar,*  in  the  monstrous  attempt  to  force 
the  Chinese  to  pay  about  two  millions  to  those  opium  smugglers. 
All  this,  be  it  remembered,  is  added  to  the  burdens  upon  the  in¬ 
dustry  of  our  own  oppressed  population. 

“Earnestly  desiring  that  you  may  be  induced  to  discharge 
your  duty  as  Christians,  and  whatever  may  be  the  result,  acquit 
yourselves  of  your  share  of  the  national  guilt,  I  conclude  with  the 
words  of  a  friend  :  ‘  For  my  own  part,  I  think  the  present  distress 
of  the  nation  may  be  the  retributive  chastisement  of  our  recent 
atrocious  war  in  China  and  the  East.  *  *  *  All  history,  and 

*  It  is  well  known  that  the  high  rate  of  freights  from  Calcutta,  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  the  shipping  required  for  the  Chinese  expedition,  greatly  contrib¬ 
uted  to  the  late  extravagant  price  of  sugar. 


APPENDIX  H. 


lxix 


the  daily  march  of  events,  demonstrate  the  perpetual  retributive 
interference  of  an  overruling  providence.  Yet  this  doctrine, 
proclaimed  as  loudly  by  experience  as  by  revelation,  and  as  legi¬ 
bly  written  on  the  page  of  history  as  in  the  Bible,  appears  to  have 
not  the  smallest  practical  influence  on  the  most  enlightened  states¬ 
men,  and  the  most  Christian  and  enlightened  nation  in  the  world.’ 

“Very  respectfully, 

“Joseph  Sturge. 

“  Birmingham ,  9th  Month  30th,  1841.” 

“  10 th  Month  9th,  1841. 

“  Since  writing  the  foregoing,  the  intelligence  has  arrived  that 
Canton  has  been  seized  :  that  ‘  Gen.  Sir  Hugh  Gough  calculates 
the  loss  of  the  Chinese,  in  the  different  attacks,  at  one  thousand 
killed  and  three  thousand  wounded;’  that  the  British  have  ex¬ 
tracted  six  millions  of  dollars  as  a  ransom  for  evacuating  the  city, 
which  the  Chinese  call  ‘  opium  compensation ;  ’  and  it  is  but  too 
evident  that  the  work  of  the  wholesale  murder  of  this  unoffending 
people  has  but  begun,  for  Capt.  Elliot,  who  appears  to  have  been 
too  tender  of  shedding  human  blood  to  please  his  employers,  is 
recalled,  and  is  succeeded  by  Sir  H.  Pottenger,  who,  it  is  report¬ 
ed,  has  instructions  from  Lord  Palmerston  to  demand  ffteen .  mil¬ 
lions  of  dollars  for  the  opium  smugglers,  and  the  whole  of  the  ex¬ 
penses  of  the  war,  and  to  secure  the  right  to  the  British  of  planting 
armed  factories  in  the  different  Chinese  ports. 

“  Shall  history  record  that  no  voice  was  raised  by  the  Christians 
of  Britain  against  the  employment  of  their  money,  and  that  of 
their  starving  countrymen,  in  deeds  like  these ! !  ” 


Appendix  H.  p.  119. 

LETTER  OF  A.  L.  PENNOCK. 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  by  Abraham  L.  Pennock, 
conveying  his  resignation  of  the  office  of  Vice  President  of  the 
American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  (old  organization,)  after  the  oc¬ 
currence  of  the  painful  divisions  in  the  anti-slavery  body,  which 


APPENDIX  H. 


lxx 

have  been  already  noticed.  This  letter  is  written  in  an  excellent 
spirit,  and  clearly  developes  the  cause  of  the  separation. 

“TO  THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ANTI¬ 
SLAVERY  SOCIETY. 

“  Other  reasons  than  those  which  will  be  presented  in  this  let¬ 
ter,  made  it  desirable  to  me  to  be  released  from  any  official  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Anti-Slavery  Society.  I  thought  those  reasons 
so  well  known  to  some  of  the  delegates  from  the  Pennsylvania 
Society,  and  withal  they  were  deemed  by  me  of  so  much  value, 
that  I  felt  both  surprise  and  regret  at  understanding  that  my 
name  was  continued  as  one  of  the  vice  presidents  of  the  Parent 
Society.  Thus  saying,  I  am,  nevertheless,  bound  to  express  my 
indebtedness  for  the  kind  feeling  toward  me,  and  confidence  in 
my  love  for  the  slave,  which,  doubtless,  induced  the  appoint¬ 
ment. 

“By  an  accident  to  my  anti-slavery  newspapers,  I  have  just 
received  the  proceedings  of  the  society  at  the  above  meeting.  1 
am  sorry  to  find  in  them  superadded  reasons  for  regret  at  my  ap¬ 
pointment,  as  that  appointment  seems  to  place  me  in  the  false 
position  of  appearing  to  be  in  favor  of  its  leading  measures ;  some 
of  which,  denunciatory  of  co-laborers  in  the  abolition  cause,  have 
not  my  unity. 

“  In  the  heavy  responsibilities  of  the  former  Executive  Com¬ 
mittee,  I  find  a  sufficient  reason  for  their  transfer  of  the  ‘  Emanci¬ 
pator  ’  and  other  property  for  which  they  stood  personally  en¬ 
gaged  ;  and  I  therefore  cannot  join  in  affirming  such  transfer  to 
be  ‘  a  flagrant  breach  of  trust ;’  and  their  answer  in  justification 
of  their  course,  ‘  an  attempt  to  defend  which  betrays  an  utter  dis¬ 
regard  of  the  rights  of  abolitionists.’ 

“  Believing  in  the  intellectual  equality  of  the  sexes,  I  go  fully 
for  women’s  rights  and  duties.  They  possess  a  moral  force  of 
immense  power,  which  they  are  bound  to  exert  for  the  good  of 
mankind ;  including  emphatically  so,  those  who  are  in  the  hope¬ 
less  and  most  wretched  condition  of  slaves.  The  belief  of  the 
value  of  female  co-operation  is  common  to  the  anti-slavery  com¬ 
munity;  and  the  only  question  regarding  it  which  has  arisen,  is, 
whether  it  shall  be  exerted  in  societies  and  conventions  of  wo¬ 
men,  or  in  societies  and  conventions  of  men  and  women,  irre- 


APPENDIX  H. 


lxxi 


spective  of  sex.  The  question  is  of  recent  date,  not  even  coeval 
with  the  modern  anti-slavery  enterprise ;  and  the  practice,  at  the 
origination  of  this  enterprise,  that  of  separate  action.  We  can 
all  bear  testimony  to  the  powerful  impression  upon  the  public 
mind,  made  by  women,  acting  singly  or  in  societies  and  conven¬ 
tions,  before  it  was  thought  of  merging  their  influence  in  a  joint 
stock  community  with  their  brethren.  Where  can  we  find  an 
anti-slavery  organization  more  potential,  and  so  dignified,  as  was 
the  convention  of  American  women  ?  Is  it  therefore  surprising 
that  the  question  has  not  been  conclusively  settled  by  American 
abolitionists,  that  women  ought  to  act  identically  on  the  same 
platform  and  in  the  same  society  with  men  ;  and  that  the  practice, 
founded  on  this  plan,  still  remains  measurably  local,  and,  by  many 
conforming  to  it,  is  deemed  experimental  ? 

“  In  convening  a  World’s  Convention,  no  innovation  upon  the 
general  social  usages  was  contemplated  by  our  brethren  in  Eng¬ 
land  who  called  it.  The  convention  was  meant  to  be  a  conven¬ 
tion  of  men ;  and  what  was  deficient  of  explicitness  in  the  first 
notice  was  amply  made  up  in  the  reiteration  of  the  call.  It  was 
fully  known  before  the  appointment  of  delegates  by  the  American 
Anti-Slavery  Society  that  the  intention  of  the  committee  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society  was  such  as  is  above 
explained.  The  views  of  the  inviting  party  being  known,  it  was 
competent  to  the  invited  to  accept  or  reject  the  invitation,  but  not 
to  modify  its  terms.  The  American  Society,  however,  in  face  of 
the  invitation,  with  a  knowledge  of  the  extreme  sensitiveness  of 
that  portion  of  the  British  people  whom  the  Convention  would 
deem  it  important  to  conciliate,  to  any  innovation  upon  established 
forms,  and  itself  not  united  in  discarding  the  distinctions  of  sex, 
resolved  to  send  female  delegates  to  the  Convention,  and  thus,  in 
effect,  to  appeal  from  the  Committee  to  the  paramount  authority 
of  the  Convention,  and  with  it  to  settle  the  American  question. 

“  In  exercising  this  authority  we  are  to  suppose,  from  the  high 
moral,  intellectual,  and  philanthropic  standing  of  its  members,  the 
Convention,  in  adhering  to  the  general  usages  of  society,  meant 
to  perpetuate  no  injustice ;  and  we  know,  from  their  very  respect¬ 
ful  attention  to  the  rejected  delegates,  that  they  were  influenced 
by  no  want  of  courtesy  —  lam  satisfied  that  they  acted  according 
to  their  best  impressions  of  duty,  the  carrying  out  of  which  was 


lxxii 


APPENDIX  I. 


their  high  aim ;  and  that  the  Convention  was  not  the  less  a 
World’s  Convention  because  it  did  not  embrace  both  sexes  as  its 
members,  or  any  reforms  without  the  scope  of  its  call.  I  cannot 
unite,  therefore,  in  the  resolutions  declaring  the  proceedings  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society  ‘  arbitrary  and  des¬ 
potic;’  or  the  act  of  the  London  Conference,  excluding  the  fe¬ 
male  delegates  of  the  American  Society  appointed  in  contradic¬ 
tion  to  the  terms  of  the  invitation,  as  ‘  highly  disrespectful  to  the 
delegates,  and  to  us,  their  constituents,  tyrannical  in  its  nature, 
mischievous  in  its  tendencies,  and  unworthy  of  men  claiming  the 
character  of  abolitionists.’ 

“  Thus  my  views  not  being  in  harmony  with  the  action  of  the 
society,  in  the  particulars  above  referred  to,  my  duty  to  it  and 
myself  is,  to  tender  you  this  as  my  resignation  of  the  office  of 
Vice  President  for  Pennsylvania,  and  not  to  await  another  elec¬ 
tion  for  withdrawing  from  it. 

“  With  no  heart  for  the  controversies  which  have  got  in  among 
my  brethren,  the  common  friends  of  the  enslaved,  and  which  are 
sadly  wasting  their  anti-slavery  strength,  but  with  a  warm  heart 
for  the  legitimate  objects  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society, 
I  shall  not  cease  anxiously  to  desire  its  prosperity  and  speedy 
triumph  with  these  just  limitations. 

“Your  friend, 

“(Signed)  Abraham  L.  Pennock. 

“  Haverford ,  6th  Month  28 ih,  1841.” 


Appendix  I.  p.  146. 

GERRIT  SMITH’S  SLAVES. 

Extract  of  a  Letter  from  James  Cannings  Fuller  to  Joseph  Sturge. 

“Dear  Friend,  —  Doubtless  thou  hast  often  thought  of  the 
visit  to  our  mutual  friend,  Gerrit  Smith,  and  dwelt  on  the  recollec¬ 
tion  with  pleasure.  As  thou  requested  me  to  furnish  thee  with 
the  result  of  the  case  which  was  brought  under  our  notice  from 
the  correspondence  in  the  case  of  Sam  and  Harriet,  I  cheerfully 
comply,  by  giving  thee  a  somewhat  detailed  account,  believing 


APPENDIX  I. 


lxxiii 


it  may  be  interesting  to  thee,  and  not  unproductive  of  benefit  to 
others. 

“  There  are  in  America  no  small  number  of  individuals  whose 
circumstances,  by  parental  gift  or  marriage  endowments,  are 
similar  to  those  of  our  dear  friend,  Ann  Carroll  Smith.  I  would 
there  were  a  host  prepared,  like  her  and  her  noble  husband,  to  do 
sacrifice  of  their  substance  on  the  altar  of  human  rights. 

“  Ann  Carroll  Fitzhugh  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  Col.  Wm. 
Fitzhugh,  a  slaveholder,  who  formerly  resided  in  Hagerstown, 
Maryland.  About  twenty-three  years  ago,  he  removed  to  Gene- 
seo,  New  York.  Twenty  human  chattels,  whom  he  brought  with 
him,  became  free  by  the  law  of  1817;  the  remainder  were  left 
on  his  plantation,  in  Maryland.  Mammy  Rachael,  who  nursed 
the  Colonel’s  wife,  on  the  births  of  James  Fitzhugh  and  his  sister 
Ann,  gave  to  the  former  a  boy,  who  was  named  Sam  ;  and  to  the 
latter  a  girl,  called  Harriet.  They  grew  up  together,  and  ulti¬ 
mately  formed  a  strong  attachment.  When  Ann  Fitzhugh  was 
about  eighteen  years  old,  her  brother  wrote  to  inquire  if  she 
would  give  him  Harriet,  that  she  might  become  Sam’s  wife. 
When  it  is  considered  that  Ann  was  young  and  inexperienced  ; 
that  she  had  been  educated  to  consider  slavery  right ;  that  the 
doctrine  of  inalienable  personal  ownership  had  not  then  been 
urged  ;  and  that  the  idea  of  bestowing  a  wife  on  her  brother’s 
slave  was  naturally  pleasing,  it  is  no  marvel  that  she  cheerfully 
granted  the  request. 

“James  Fitzhugh  removed  from  Maryland  to  Kentucky.  In 
the  course  of  events,  his  pecuniary  affairs  became  embarrassed, 
and  creditors  grew  clamorous  for  the  adjustment  of  their  claims. 
His  effects  were  likely  to  be  sold  by  the  sheriff,  and  it  was  re¬ 
ported  he  had  no  legal  title  to  Harriet.  Under  these  circum¬ 
stances,  Gabriel  Jackson  prevailed  on  him  to  transfer  Sam,  his 
wife,  and  first-born  child,  to  him,  in  payment  of  his  debt.  This 
man  afterwards  sold  them  to  Samuel  Worthington,  a  cotton 
planter  of  Mississippi ;  whose  letter,  in  reply  to  Gerrit  Smith,  ar¬ 
rived  the  day  we  were  at  his  house ;  and  he  being  in  doubt  how 
to  effect  the  redemption  of  the  family,  and  their  safe  transporta¬ 
tion,  thou  wilt  remember  that  I  agreed  to  effect  both,  to  what  I 
shall  call  the  Elysian  Fields,  or,  more  properly,  Eden.  1  started 
on  the  26th  of  Seventh  Month,  via  Lake  Erie  and  the  Erie  Canal, 

G 


lxxiv 


APPENDIX  I. 


which  extends  from  north  to  south  three  hundred  and  nine  miles 
through  the  State  of  Ohio.  From  the  canal  I  took  steam-boat 
down  the  Ohio,  to  Maysville,  Kentucky.  The  mistress  of  the 
Eagle  Hotel  sat  at  her  table  as  a  queen,  surrounded  by  many 
slaves.  There  seemed  to  be  twice  as  many  hands  to  do  the  work 
as  were  needful. 

“  From  Maysville  to  Lexington  (sixty-five  miles)  is  the  best 
road  I  ever  travelled,  not  excepting  the  English  roads.  It  is 
made  and  repaired  with  whitish  limestone,  from  beginning  to  end. 
They  told  me  the  repairs  were  principally  made  by  Irishmen,  as 
slaves  were  not  to  be  trusted  to  do  the  work.  At  starting,  I  ob¬ 
served  that  the  mail  bags  were  nearly  empty  ;  and  the  driver 
being  questioned,  informed  me,  that  I  could  carry  the  whole  mail 
in  my  coat  pockets.  When  he  told  me  he  was  a  Pennsylvanian, 
I  asked  whether  he  could  not  earn  as  much  in  a  free,  as  in  a  slave 
State.  He  said  that  eighteen  dollars  a  month  was  the  most  he 
ever  received  for  driving  a  team  in  a  free  State,  and  that  now  he 
received  thirty  dollars  a  month.  This  opened  the  way  for  a  little 
anti-slavery  talk.  ‘Last  Sunday  night,’  said  he,  ‘I  saw  a  big 
black  man  making  the  best  of  his  way  for  Canada  ;  I  might  have 
stopped  him,  and  had  the  reward  of  two  hundred  dollars,  which 
was  offered.’ 

“  I  asked  him  whether  it  was  best  to  have  God’s  blessing, 
with  the  fruits  of  his  honest  industry,  or  his  curse,  with  two  hun¬ 
dred  dollars  blood  money.  He  answered,  with  moistened  eyes, 
‘  1  wish  all  the  slaves  were  free,’  to  which  I  responded,  ‘  Amen.’ 

“  Some  incidents  connected  with  the  escape  of  this  negro,  go 
to  prove  that  slaves  can  ‘  take  care  of  themselves,’  by  a  little  in¬ 
genuity,  when  occasion  requires.  Thinking  it  would  be  more 
expeditious,  as  well  as  more  agreeable,  to  ride  from  slavery  than 
to  run  from  it,  he  took  a  horse  ;  whether  his  master’s  or  not,  I  did 
not  ascertain.  The  turnpike  gates  were  a  great  hindrance,  and 
greatly  increased  the  risk  of  apprehension.  To  avoid  this,  just 
before  reaching  a  turnpike  gate,  he  let  down  a  fence,  carefully  put 
it  up  again,  to  avoid  pursuit,  passed  round  the  back  of  the  keeper’s 
house,  and  came  out  through  the  fence  beyond.  As  he  was  re¬ 
mounting  his  horse  on  one  of  these  occasions,  the  driver  came  up 
with  him.  Supposing  him  to  be  one  of  the  keeper’s  family,  he 
wished  him  good  night,  but  instantly  discovered  by  his  voice  that 


APPENDIX  I. 


IxXT 


he  was  a  colored  mm,  putting  his  horse  to  full  speed.  When  he 
returned  to  Paynestown,  he  heard  people  talking  about  a  runa¬ 
way,  and  told  Dr.  Whitehead  he  believed  he  had  seen  the  man 
the  night  before :  ‘  I  hope  that  he’ll  get  safe  into  Canada,’  was 
the  reply. 

“  4  How  can  you  say  that,  and  be  a  slave-holder  ?  ’  asked  the 
coachman. 

‘:‘I  wish  there  were  no  slaves,’  replied  he;  ‘and  as  soon  as 
others  will  liberate  theirs,  mine  shall  go  free.’ 

“  Stage  coaches  afford  no  facilities  to  the  poor  fugitives.  By 
the  law  of  the  United  States’  Government,  no  colored  man  can 
drive  a  mail  stage ;  neither  can  any  colored  man  ride  on  one, 
unless  he  is  known  to  be  free,  or  is  a  slave  travelling  with  his 
master.  Stage  owners  incur  heavy  penalties  if  they  infringe 
these  rules.  A  verdict  of  one  thousand  six  hundred  dollars  was 
lately  recovered  by  a  slave-master  against  the  company. 

“  At  Washington  the  stage  was  stopped  to  know  if  a  colored 
boy  could  be  put  on.  ‘Yes;  where  is  he?’  ‘Up  at  the  jail 
yonder.’  The  querist  took  a  seat  inside  ;  and  soon  after  I  spied 
a  colored  man  on  the  outside,  with  keepers.  He  was  a  re-cap- 
tu  e  l  runaway,  who  had  taken  a  horse  with  him,  and  imitated  the 
Israelites,  in  borrowing  various  other  articles,  when  he  escaped 
from  bondage.  He  assumed  false  whiskers  and  a  pair  of  spec¬ 
tacles  ;  and  on  reaching  the  Ohio  river,  produced  free  papers  duly 
stamped  with  the  county  seal.  But,  unfortunately,  when  ques¬ 
tioned  where  he  had  staid  the  preceding  night,  he  foolishly  at¬ 
tempted  to  describe  the  place,  and  was  thus  detected  ;  two  hun¬ 
dred  dollars  had  been  offered  for  him  if  taken  out  of  the  State, 
and  one  hundred  dollars  if  taken  in  the  State.  To  ride  in  a  stage, 
with  a  man  behind,  whose  legs  and  arms  were  fastened  together 
with  rivetted  chains  and  padlocks,  was  enough  to  make  one  feel 
the  force  of  Patrick  Henry’s  exclamation,  ‘  Give  me  liberty,  or 
give  me  death  !  ’  It  was  a  poor  consolation  to  administer  to  the 
gnawings  of  his  hunger,  while  beholding  his  manly  frame  thus 
manacled  :  but  I  thought  he  seemed  to  eat  my  gingerbread  with 
a  better  relish,  when  I  told  him  it  was  made  where  colored  men 
were  free.  At  Payne’s  tavern,  in  Fairview,  the  poor  fellow  had 
to  undergo  an  examination  from  the  landlord,  and  listen  to  a 
homily  about  truth-telling  ;  so  little  do  slave-holders  seem  aware 


APPENDIX  I. 


Jxxvi 

that  stealing  and  lying  are  constituent  parts  of  their  own  system. 
In  the  stage  office  at  Lexington,  we  encountered  the  man  who 
claimed  this  poor  fugitive.  The  driver,  who  had  come  with  us 
the  two  last  stages,  was  a  native  of  Duchess  Co.,  N.  Y. ;  and  he 
began  to  plead  with  the  slave-holder  in  behalf  of  the  slave.  1 
heard  of  another  case  where  the  angry  master  threatened  to  flog 
and  sell  a  recovered  runaway,  whom  he  had  with  him  ;  but  the 
stage  driver  remonstrated  with  him  so  effectually,  that  he  wept 
like  a  child,  and  promised  forgiveness  to  his  slave. 

“  Having  a  great  desire  to  see  the  imported  cattle  on  Henry 
Clay’s  plantation,  I  went  thither.  On  approaching  the  house  I 
saw  a  colored  man,  to  whom  I  said,  ‘  Where  wert  thou  raised  ?  ’ 
‘In  Washington.’  ‘Did  Henry  Clay  buy  thee  there?’  ‘Wilt 
thou  shew  me  his  improved  cattle?’  He  pointed  to  the  orchard, 
and  said  the  man  who  had  charge  of  them  was  there.  As  I  fol¬ 
lowed  his  direction,  I  encountered  a  very  intelligent-looking  boy, 
apparently  eight  or  nine  years  old.  I  said  to  him,  ‘Canstthou 
read?’  ‘No.’  ‘  Is  there  a  school  for  colored  people  on  Henry 

Clay’s  plantation  ?  ’  ‘  No.’  ‘  flow  old  art  thou  ?  ’  ‘  Don’t  know.’ 
In  the  orchard  I  found  a  woman  at  work  with  her  needle.  I 
asked  ‘How  old  art  thou?’  ‘A  big  fifty.’  ‘How  old  is  that?’ 
‘  Near  sixty.’  ‘  How  many  children  hast  thou  ?  ’  ‘  Fifteen  or  six¬ 

teen.’  ‘Where  are  they?’  ‘Colored  folks  don’t  know  where 
their  children  is ;  they  are  sent  all  over  the  country.’  ‘Where 
wert  thou  raised?’  ‘Washington.’  ‘Did  Henry  Clay  buy  thee 
there?’  ‘Yes.’  ‘  How  many  children  hadst  thou  then  ?  ’  ‘Four.’ 
‘  Where  are  they  ?  ’  ‘I  don’t  know.  They  tell  me  they  are 
dead.’  The  hut,  in  which  this  1  source  of  wealth ’  lives,  was 
neither  as  good,  nor  as  well  floored  as  my  stable.  Several  slaves 
were  picking  fruit  in  the  orchard.  I  asked  one  of  the  young  men 
whether  they  were  taught  to  read  on  this  plantation,  and  he 
answered,  ‘No.’  1  found  the  overseer  of  the  cattle  with  a  short 

handled  stout  whip,  which  had  been  broken.  He  said  it  answered 
both  for  a  riding  whip,  and  occasionally  ‘  to  whip  off  the  slaves.’ 

“  What,  my  friend,  is  to  be  learned  from  these  gleanings  at 
Ashland  ?  —  from  the  doings  of  our  mutual  friend,  Joseph  John  Gur¬ 
ney’s  ‘  dear  friend,’  Henry  Clay  :  the  man  who  boasts  that  ‘  every 
pulsation  of  his  heart  beats  high  for  liberty,’  yet  is  not  ashamed 
to  buy  men  and  women  at  the  Capitol ! — that  place  which,  above 


APPENDIX  I. 


lxxvii 


all  others,  ought  not  to  be  cursed  by  the  footsteps  of  a  slave. 
Yet  I  fear  there  are  not  wanting  in  the  abolition  ranks  men  so 
wedded  to  political  party,  that  they  may  be  tempted  to  vote  for 
Henry  Clay  ;  serving  their  party  and  themselves  thereby,  and 
perchance  thinking  they  serve  their  country. 

“  Do  not  think  Clay  a  sinner  above  all  other  men.  His 
slaves  appeared  to  be  well  fed  and  well  clothed.  Indeed,  the 
general  superiority  of  condition  in  Kentucky  slaves,  over  those  of 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  cannot  fail  to  strike  the  most  superficial 
observer. 

“Pursuing  my  journey,  I  came  to  Blue  Lick,  whose  waters 
are  celebrated  throughout  the  United  States.  At  the  spring  I 
found  several  men,  white  and  colored.  I  asked  if  I  could  have  a 
drink.  A  white  man  said  the  waters  were  free  to  all.  I  asked, 
‘  Will  they  make  all  free  ?’  They  again  replied  that  the  spring 
was  free  to  all.  ‘  I  perceive  thou  dost  not  understand  my  ques¬ 
tion,’  said  I.  But  the  countenances  of  the  colored  men  bright¬ 
ened,  and,  with  a  cheerful  tone,  they  answered  significantly,  ‘We 
know  what  you  mean.’ 

“  I  found  Samuel  Worthington  quite  a  different  person  than 
his  letters  had  led  me  to  imagine.  When  I  introduced  myself  he 
appeared  nervous  and  embarrassed.  He  was  a  Kentuckian  by 
birth,  but  having  met  with  reverses  in  fortune  he  went  to  Missis¬ 
sippi,  and  became  an  overseer ;  first  on  a  salary  of  six  hundred 
dollars,  and  afterwards  two  thousand  dollars.  He  now  owns  a 
cotton  plantation,  with  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  slaves,  and 
is  reputed  wealthy.  He  is  considered  an  accomplished  gentle¬ 
man,  of  sound,  discriminating,  and  feeling  mind.  I  believe  he  is 
a  kind  master,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  term  ;  that  is,  he 
feeds  and  clothes  his  slaves  well,  and  does  not  overwork  them, 
though  the  overseer’s  whip  is  the  stimulus  to  labor.  He  gave  me 
some  account  of  provision ;  but  the  only  item  I  remember  is,  that 
he  cured  twenty-five  thousand  pounds  of  pork  annually,  for  his 
slaves.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  say  any  thing  disrespectful  of  him, 
except  that  he  is  a  slave-holder  ;  a  word  which,  in  my  view,  com¬ 
prises  ‘the  sum  of  all  villany.’  In  my  transactions  with  him,  I 
found  him  fair  and  honorable,  as  far  as  it  can  be  honorable  to  sell 
human  flesh. 

“He  said  he  had  long  since  received  a  letter  from  J.  Fitz- 

o 

O  2 


Ixxviii 


APPENDIX  I. 


hugh,  concerning  Sam’s  family ;  but  as  he  knew  their  situation 
would  not  be  bettered  by  being  transferred  to  him,  he  had  taken 
no  notice  of  the  application.  When  Gerrit  Smith’s  letter  came, 
he  supposed  that  the  writer  was  not  in  earnest ;  £  that  it  was  all 
done  for  effect,  and  would  end  in  smoke.’  He  was  surprised  to 
learn,  by  G.  Smith’s  reply  to  him,  that  it  was  my  intention  to 
come  to  Harrodsburg;  he  regretted  that  it  was  so,  as  it  disturbed 
him,  and  might  break  up  his  family  arrangements.  His  wife  had 
three  small  children,  one  of  them  a  babe,  and  the  proposed  ar¬ 
rangements  would  leave  her  without  assistance.  He  told  me  he 
was  not  a  man  to  be  driven;  and  1  answered  that  we  were  well 
matched  on  that  point;  it  would,  however,  be  better  for  us  both 
to  ascertain  coolly  how  far  we  could  agree.  He  began  by  saying 
that  he  did  not  feel  bound  to  sell  the  family,  in  consequence  of 
what  he  had  written  to  G.  Smith  ;  for  he  had  only  said  that  he 
might  be  induced  to  take  four  thousand  dollars  for  them.  After 
some  preliminaries,  he  proposed  that  I  should  have  a  conversation 
with  Sam ;  for  he  did  not  think  he  could  be  prevailed  upon  to 
leave  him.  I  assured  him  I  should  do  no  such  thing,  until  he  and 
I  had  settled  the  question  of  dollars  and  cents.  I  had  no  idea  of 
presenting  the  cup  of  freedom  to  Sam’s  lips,  and  then  having  it 
dashed  to  the  ground.  4  I  do  not  believe,’  said  I,  4  that  there  is  a 
man  on  these  grounds  whom  I  could  not  induce  to  go  with  me 
from  slavery  ;  but  if  Sam  has  objections,  let  me  talk  with  his  wife.’ 

“ 4  No,  that  will  not  do,’  replied  he ;  4  she  would  go  with  you.’ 

4  Yes,’  said  I,  ‘let  me  talk  to  your  womfen  of  a  mother’s  right  to 
herself  and  her  offspring,  and  then  see  how  many  of  them  you 
would  find  willing  to  remain  in  bondage  !  ’ 

44  After  various  pros  and  cons,  we  concluded  a  bargain,  subject 
of  course  to  the  parties  being  willing  to  leave  the  4  patriarchal 
institution.’  Three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  were  to  be 
paid,  and  both  of  us  together  were  to  have  an  opportunity  of  con¬ 
versing  with  Sam  and  his  wife.  The  master  probably  felt  so 
confident  that  his  slave  would  not  leave  him,  that  he  had  not  pa¬ 
tience  to  wait  the  promised  interview;  for  he  popped  the  delicate 
question  to  him  alone.  Sam  had  been  informed  of  the  whole 
progress  of  the  affair,  from  the  time  of  G.  Smith’s  first  letter ; 
and  he  answered  promptly  that  he  would  go :  so  that  before  I 
met  him,  that  difficult  part  of  the  business  had  ‘ended  in  smoke.’ 


APPENDIX  I. 


Ixxix 


“S.  Worthington’s  disappointment  was  the  greater  because  I 
had  told  him  that  I  had  felt  like  one  of  old :  ‘  If  the  woman  will 
not  be  willing  to  follow  thee,  then  thou  shalt  be  clear  from  this 
that  I  could  go  back  with  a  quiet  mind  ;  and  that  the  consciences 
of  my  friends  in  Peterboro’  would  doubtless  be  satisfied,  having 
given  Harriet  and  her  family  the  liberty  of  choice,  and  thus  made 
all  the  reparation  in  their  power  for  having  ever  held  her  in 
slavery. 

“  The  large  price  paid  for  the  redemption  of  this  family  may 
surprise  thee,  especially  if  thou  hast  not  forgotten  that  passage  in 
Worthington’s  letter  where  he  says,  ‘I  am,  to  some  extent,  op¬ 
posed  to  slavery ;  nor  do  I  object  to  the  efforts  of  abolitionists 
when  done  in  a  good  spirit.’  It  is,  however,  but  justice  to  say 
that  the  description  he  gave  of  the  family  is  strictly  correct. 
‘  They  are  all  sprightly,  remarkable  for  good  character,  and  of 
course  most  valuable  for  house  servants.’  He  said  he  had  repeat¬ 
edly  been  offered  two  thousand  dollars  for  Sam,  and  he  believed 
he  would  command  that  sum  any  day  from  those  who  knew  his 
worth ;  that  his  old  master  prised  him  very  highly,  particularly 
for  his  moral  excellence ;  and,  speaking  of  his  conduct,  described 
him  as  a  ‘gentleman.’  Yet  he  talked  as  if  he  were  certain  that 
Sam  and  his  family  would  be  reduced  to  beggary  if  left  to  them¬ 
selves  at  the  North !  The  children,  it  is  true,  have  had  little 
preparation  in  slavery  for  self  reliance ;  for  the  most  favored  of 
them  cannot  spell  their  own  names. 

“  S.  Worthington  said  many  had  inquired  of  him  what  busi¬ 
ness  brought  me  there  ;  and  being  informed  of  the  object  of  my 
mission,  they  advised  him  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  me.  ‘  But,’ 
said  he,  ‘though  I  am  certain  the  condition  of  Sam  and  his  wife 
cannot  be  bettered,  I  do  not  think  the  same  with  regard  to  their 
children ;  and  as  Mr.  Smith  seems  disposed  to  do  a  kind  action,  I 
cannot,  in  conscience,  attempt  to  frustrate  it.  If  I  were  to  send, 
you  home  without  this  family,  I  should  have  a  troubled  mind.’ 

“  One  of  Worthington’s  greatest  difficulties  in  parting  with 
these  slaves  was,  that  it  would  leave  his  wife  destitute  of  servants. 
I  pitied  her,  and  felt  it  right  to  express  my  sympathy.  I  told  her 
my  compassion  was  increased,  because  I  apprehended  there  was 
a  struggle  in  her  own  breast  between  duty  and  interest ;  and  I 
appealed  to  her  whether  she  did  not  know  it  was  a  duty  to  let 


lxxx 


APPENDIX  I. 


them  go,  though  personal  interest  would  induce  her  to  keep  them 
in  her  service.  I  was  glad  to  perceive  that  these  remarks  enabled 
her  to  relieve  herself  of  a  weight  —  her  countenance  brightened 
up,  and  she  appeared  quite  willing  I  should  take  them  away.  She 
showed  great  kindness  to  Harriet  and  her  children,  and  evidently 
felt  deeply  moved  at  parting  with  the  nurse,  who  had  thrice  been 
with  her  through  nature’s  sorest  trials.  She  appeared  to  me  to  be 
a  nice  lady -like  person;  and,  if  I  judge  aright,  she  knows  what 
estimate  ought  to  be  placed  upon  slavery  in  a  woman’s  mind. 

“  Those  who  know  me  will  not  suspect  that  I  sought  to  con¬ 
ceal  my  abolition,  even  in  the  hot-bed  of  slavery.  Yet  I  assure 
thee  I  had  no  intention  of  making  it  a  common  topic  of  conversa¬ 
tion,  unless  the  way  appeared  to  open  ;  but  thy  experience,  I 
doubt  not,  as  well  as  mine,  proves  that  it  is  ever  opening.  The 
most  we  need  to  do  is  to  embrace  opportunities,  without  seeking 
to  make  them.  I  had  not  expected  to  say  as  much  as  I  did,  but 
it  was  such  a  curiosity  for  a  Quaker  to  be  seen  in  such  company, 
that  it  was  soon  universally  known  why  I  had  come  and  what  I 
had  done.  This  gave  rise  to  many  conversations  with  slavehold¬ 
ers,  which  I  trust  did  some  good.  I  was  astonished  at  their  ex¬ 
treme  ignorance  concerning  the  laboring  population  of  the  North. 
Thou  wilt  perhaps  be  surprised  to  hear  me  assert  that  slave  hold¬ 
ers  do  not  know  what  slavery  is.  Still  more  strange  will  it  seem 
when  I  tell  thee  that  thy  old  friend  was  highly  complimented  by 
them  for  his  prudence  and  discretion !  The  story  had  become 
current  that  I  would  not  talk  to  Sam  till  1  had  settled  the  busi¬ 
ness  with  his  master;  and  as  they  generally  professed  to  believe 
that  abolitionists  wished  to  incite  the  slave  against  their  master, 
by  every  mischievous  incentive  they  could  devise,  my  conduct 
naturally  enough  seemed  to  them  remarkable.  I  told  them  I 
must  honestly  abjure  such  complimentary  language ;  for,  so  far 
from  being  what  they  would  consider  discreet,  I  was  in  fact  an 
abolitionist  of  the  most  ultra  school.  I  assured  them  that  most  of 
my  associates  at  the  North  would  have  proceeded  as  I  had  done, 
and  some  of  them  probably  with  more  discretion.  I  like  much 
better  to  talk  to  a  southerner  on  slavery  than  with  a  northern 
apologist.  I  regard  him  as  far  less  mean.  There  is  a  mind  to  be 
appealed  to  for  facts,  and  there  is  a  feeling  that  can  be  reached 
by  a  simple  testimony  of  republican  truth.  In  this,  the  slave 


APPENDIX  I. 


lxxxi 


holder  sometimes  ‘  sees  his  face  as  in  a  glass  ;  but  he  goeth  away 
and  forgetteth  what  manner  of  man  he  is.’ 

“  As  my  prudence  and  discretion  had  excited  observation,  I 
ventured  to  remark  that  it  would  be  a  great  gratification  to  me,  if 
the  slave  holders  would  meet  together  and  let  me  occupy  an  hour 
or  so  in  defining  the  true  position  and  principles  of  the  abolition¬ 
ists  ;  but  this,  as  I  had  expected,  was  declined. 

“  When  I  paid  the  money,  I  felt  constrained  to  testify  that  I 
could  in  no  degree  sanction  the  principle  that  man  could  hold 
property  in  man ;  that  the  slaves  were  our  equals  by  creation,  and 
for  their  salvation,  equally  with  ours,  did  Christ  leave  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father  to  suffer  on  the  cross.  I  told  them  that  con¬ 
tradictory  as  it  might  seem  to  them,  the  man  who  was  now  paying 
money  for  slaves,  had  such  a  detestation  of  the  system,  that  he 
deemed  it  a  duty  to  abstain  from  eating  or  wearing  any  of  the 
products  of  slavery.  This  seemed  to  them  wondrous  strange,  and 
they  inquired  if  there  were  many  at  the  North  who  agreed  with 
me  in  this  scruple.  I  told  them  yes  ;  that  the  number  was  in¬ 
creasing,  and  that  my  friend,  Gerrit  Smith,  had  abstained  from 
slave  produce  for  many  years. 

“  A  few  hours  previous  to  my  final  departure  one  after  another 
gathered  around  me,  and  as  we  stood  in  the  open  piazza,  I  said 
what  I  could  to  explain  the  principles  and  practice  of  abolitionists. 
I  think  S.  Worthington  felt  a  little  hurt  at  my  being  thus  en¬ 
gaged,  for  when  the  stage  drove  up,  he  came  in  great  haste  to 
inform  me  that  it  was  ready.  I  found  it  surrounded  by  many  per¬ 
sons,  principally  colored,  who  had  assembled  to  bid  farewell  to 
the  objects  of  my  charge.  Their  master  shook  each  slave  by  the 
hand  and  bade  them  farewell.  I  observed  him  as  we  moved 
away,  and  thought  he  seemed  to  be  a  good  deal  moved  from  some 
cause  or  other. 

“I  took  care  that  coachman  and  passengers  should  be  in¬ 
formed  of  the  history  of  Sam  and  his  wife ;  and  some  one  or  other 
of  them  was  sure  to  make  it  a  subject  of  conversation  wherever 
we  stopped.  At  Lawrenceburg,  where  we  put  up  for  the  night, 
the  landlord  was  also  stage  proprietor  and  a  slave  holder.  He 
tried  to  make  me  believe  that  his  slaves  were  much  better  off  than 
himself.  He  enumerated  his  troubles  and  perplexities  in  contrast 
with  the  blessed  freedom  from  care  enjoyed  by  his  slaves.  I  told 


Ixxxii 


APPENDIX  I. 


him  he  had  made  out  his  case  very  well ;  but  to  test  his  sincerity, 
I  merely  wished  him  to  declare  candidly,  whether  he  should  be 
altogether  willing  that  himself  and  family  should  exchange  places 
with  a  slave  family.  The  test  was  too  severe,  and  he  walked  off. 
Two  young  men  at  table  then  took  up  the  conversation.  The 
tyranny  which  slavery  exercises  over  the  entire  community,  was 
illustrated  by  the  assertion  that  the  head  of  a  certain  college  did 
not  dare  to  acknowledge  himself  an  abolitionist;  for  if  he  did  he 
would  lose  his  office,  which  brought  him  in  a  good  salary ;  and, 
moreover,  the  people  of  D - would  dismiss  him  from  his  pasto¬ 

ral  charge.  1  of  course  took  the  ground  that  he  could  not  be  a 
truly  Christian  minister,  who  would  purchase  his  bread  and 
cheese  at  the  expense  of  denying  his  own  belief,  or  suppressing 
his  own  convictions. 

“  My  host  inquired  whether  I  would  sit  at  table  with  colored 
people;  and  he  seemed  much  surprised  when  I  answered,  ‘I  do 
not  judge  persons  by  their  complexion,  but  by  moral  worth.  At 
my  own  table  I  sit  with  colored  people,  and  I  shall  with  these.’ 

“  The  South,  however,  is  much  more  free  from  prejudice 
against  color  than  the  north ;  provided  the  distinction  between 
the  classes  is  understood. — A  gentleman  may  seat  his  slave  beside 
him  in  a  stage  coach,  and  a  lady  makes  no  objection  to  ride  next 
a  fat  negro  woman,  even  when  the  thermometer  is  at  ninety 
degrees ;  provided  always  that  her  fellow  travellers  understand 
she  is  her  property. 

“  At  Shelbyville  the  stage  was  likely  to  be  crowded  with  new 
passengers,  when  I  said  to  some  young  men  who  were  about  to 
get  in,  that  I  had  a  family  with  me  who  must  not  be  turned  out  of 
the  seats  they  had  occupied.  Samuel  and  his  family  took  their 
accustomed  seats,  and  those  who  could  not  find  room  rode  on  the 
roof  of  the  coach  ;  among  them  was  a  member  elect  of  the 
Legislature.  As  we  started,  a  well  dressed  man,  among  the 
crowd  at  the  tavern-door,  called  out,  1  Go  it  abolition  !  ’ 

“  A  crowd  at  this  place  attracted  my  attention,  and  I  found  it 
was  an  executor’s  sale ;  comprising  1  lands,  houses,  furniture, 
horses,  cows,  hogs,  and  twenty  likely  negroes.’  Slaves  must, 
however,  be  more  of  a  cash  article  than  other  commodities ;  for 
they  were  to  be  sold  on  four  months’  credit ;  real  estate,  on  twelve 
and  twenty  four  months,  and  all  other  property,  six  months’. 


APPENDIX  I. 


lxxxiii 


“At  Louisville,  we  fell  in  with  Elisha,  brother  of  Samuel 
Worthington,  on  his  return  to  Arkansas,  where  he  had  a  cotton 
plantation.  He  manifested  much  openness  and  good  will,  and 
pressingly  invited  me  to  visit  him,  should  I  ever  go  down  the 
Mississippi.  After  considerable  conversation  on  slavery,  he 
asked  me  what  I  thought  would  be  the  effect  of  my  late  visit.  I 
replied,  it  was  a  subject  I  had  often  contemplated  myself,  but  I 
did  not  know  whether  it  had  entered  the  heads  of  others.  For  my 
own  part,  I  thought  I  had  taught  the  slaveholders  a  lesson. 
They  maintained  that  the  slaves  did  not  want  their  freedom ;  yet 
here  was  one,  well  fed  and  well  clothed,  and  in  fact  living  in 
clover,  as  far  as  a  slave  could  do  so,  ready,  without  my  asking 
him,  to  go  with  me  among  strangers.  If  he  would  leave  such  a 
kind  master,  what  might  not  be  expected  of  the  oppressed 
field  hand  ? 

“ 4  Perhaps  a  quotation  from  Latimer  would  furnish  you  with  a 
more  direct  reply  to  your  question,’  said  I,  4  You  know  he  said  at 
the  stake  — 44  We  shall  this  day  light  such  a  fire  in  England,  as  I 
trust,  by  God's  grace,  will  never  be  put  out.”  And  I  believe  my 
visit  has  kindled  a  flame  of  liberty  in  Harrodsburg,  that  shall  burn 
for  years  to  come ;  and,  by  its  light,  I  trust,  that  many  will  find 
their  way  into  Canada.’ 

44 1  told  him,  too,  I  had  a  question  to  ask,  and  I  wanted  a 
direct  answer — yes,  or  no.  ‘Were  the  slaves  any  worse  off, 
since  the  question  of  abolition  has  been  agitated  ?’ 

“He  said  they  were  not,  excepting  in  one  respect.  Formerly, 
when  a  preacher  came  among  them  to  hold  meetings  with  the 
slaves,  they  had  no  objection  ;  but  now,  they  feared  that  slaves 
from  different  plantations  might  thus  congregate  together  and 
plot  mischief.  I  asked  him  if  slaves  in  Mississippi  were  aware 
of  abolition  efforts  in  the  North;  and  he  said  he  believed  they 
were. 

44  We  parted  with  Samuel  at  Louisville,  we  taking  the  steam 
boat  for.  Cincinnati,  and  leaving  him  to  proceed  to  Worthington 
plantation  for  his  boys.  He  stood  and  watched  the  departure  of 
our  boat  with  a  soul  full  of  emotion.  He  felt  himself  a  connect¬ 
ing  link  between  his  sons  in  distant  Mississippi,  and  his  wife  and 
daughters  on  their  way  to  Peterboro’;  and  I  was  glad  to  see 
nature  and  affection  gush  forth  in  tears.  They  say  colored 


lxxxiv 


APPENDIX  I. 


people  cannot  take  care  of  themselves,  but  I  assure  thee  I  had 
hard  work  to  make  these  people  move  a  step,  till  a  safe  plan  was 
arranged  for  their  absent  children. 

“  When  I  went  to  pay  the  captain  my  fare,  he  asked  whether 
the  colored  woman  and  girls  were  my  property.  I  answered  yes; 
but  explained  to  him  my  peculiar  situation,  and  I  told  him  I 
detested  the  very  name  of  slavery.  He  said  they  usually  asked 
for  a  reference,  but  he  felt  sure  that  a  person  of  my  appearance 
would  not  tell  him  a  falsehood.  I  told  him  I  would  show  him  my 
bill  of  sale,  as  soon  as  the  hurry  had  subsided  ;  not  because  I 
acknowledged  his  right  to  demand  it,  but  because  he  was  civil 
and  polite,  and  I  was  willing  to  satisfy  him.  When  I  showed  him 
the  bill,  he  knew  both  the  seller  and  the  witness,  as  I  had  expec¬ 
ted.  I  asked  him  whether,  if  I  had  brought  a  barrel  of  lard  on 
board,  he  would  have  troubled  me  to  prove  property?  He  apol¬ 
ogized  by  saying,  that  they  had  been  imposed  on  by  white  men, 
who  put  slaves  on  board,  under  the  pretence  that  they  were  free ; 
and  that  the  owners  of  the  line  had  been  obliged  to  pay  six  thou¬ 
sand  dollars  for  fugitive  slaves.  I  noticed  there  were  no  colored 
hands  on  board. 

“  On  arriving  at  Buffalo,  we  put  up  at  the  Mansion  House; 
and  the  first  object  that  caught  my  eye  was  an  advertisement,  da¬ 
ted  Liberty,  in  Missouri,  offering  three  hundred  dollars  reward 
for  three  fugitive  slaves.  This  is  a  free  state  with  a  vengeance! 
No  stage  riding  for  colored  people  here;  moreover,  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  I  could  obtain  breakfast  for  my  companions,  though 
I  had  paid  for  it  I  hope  abolitionists  will  keep  clear  of  such  a 
pro-slavery  atmosphere  as  surrounds  the  Mansion  House. 

“On  board  the  cars,  Colorophobia  again  began  to  rage;  but 
the  agent  soon  quelled  it,  by  finding  other  seats  for  two  persons, 
who  thought  better  of  themselves  than  others  did  of  them.  In 
the  stage  to  Auburn,  difficulty  again  occurred,  and  the  driver  wan¬ 
ted  to  return  my  money,  when  some  of  the  passengers  objected 
to  the  complexion  of  some  of  my  companions.  1  told  him  the 
stage  was  too  crowded  to  hold  us,  at  any  event ;  but  unless  he 
sent  us  on  to  Auburn  in  good  season,  I  should  teach  the  company 
a  lesson  they  would  not  soon  forget.  He  did  so  ;  and  I  arrived 
safely  at  my  own  house,1  after  an  absence  of  twenty-six  days,  and 
a  travel  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five  miles.  The 


APPENDIX  K. 


lxxxv 


whole  cost  of  redemption,  including  our  travelling  expenses,  was 
three  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-three  dollars  and  eighty- 
one  cents.  (£807.) 

“  We  had  not  been  long  there  before  Harriet  said  to  my  wife, 
1  Madam,  I  return  you  a  thousand  thanks  for  letting  your  gentle¬ 
man  fetch  us and  I  believe  she  said  no  more  than  she  felt,  and  I 
felt  the  force  of  her  grateful  acknowledgments. 

“  After  two  days’  rest,  we  proceeded  to  Gerrit  Smith’s ;  where, 
as  thou  mayest  well  believe,  we  received  the  friendly  welcome 
which  those  are  wont  to  receive  who  visit  his  house. 

“  Skaneateles,9th  Month  14 th,  1841.” 


Appendix  K.  Page  159. 

The  Society  of  Friends  in  America  and  the  Colonization  Society. 

The  “  Friends  ”  alluded  to  in  the  text  as  supporting  the  Col¬ 
onization  Society  in  a  collective  capacity,  are  those  of  North  Car¬ 
olina.  In  1832  two  influential  “Friends  ”  appeared  at  the  Annu¬ 
al  Meeting  of  the  Colonization  Society,  as  delegates  from  the  So¬ 
ciety  of  Friends  in  North  Carolina.  One  of  the  resolutions 
passed  at  the  time,  is  as  follows :  —  “  That  the  thanks  of  this 
Meeting  be  presented  to  the  Society  of  Friends  in  North  Caroli¬ 
na,  for  the  aid  they  have  liberally  bestowed  and  repeatedly  ren¬ 
dered  to  the  cause  of  African  Colonization.”  The  Yearly  meet¬ 
ing  of  Friends  in  North  Carolina  stands  among  the  donors  of  that 
year,  as  having  contributed  five  hundred  dollars  to  the  Coloniza¬ 
tion  Society.  I  fear  no  change  has  since  taken  place  in  the  favor¬ 
able  disposition  of  “  Friends  ”  of  that  region  towards  this  institu¬ 
tion,  for  during  one  of  my  visits  to  Philadelphia,  I  was  informed 
by  a  “  Friend,’’  just  returned  from  North  Carolina,  that  an  agent 
of  the  Colonization  Society  had  been  recently  permitted  to  make 
an  appeal  before  the  members  of  the  “  Meeting  of  Sufferings  ” 
of  that  Yearly  Meeting,  which  had  afterwards  granted  him  two 
hundred  dollars  out  of  the  common  stock  of  the  Society.  Noth¬ 
ing  is  more  certain  than  that  approbation  of  the  principles  and 
measures  of  the  Colonization  Society,  cannot  co-exist  with  any 

H 


lxxxvi 


APPENDIX  K. 


lively  desires  for  the  extinction  of  slavery,  by  the  only  practical 
means  —  emancipation ;  and  accordingly  I  was  not  surprised  to 
find  it  urged  by  some  prominent  individuals  as  a  reason  for  their 
own  inactivity,  and  that  of  the  Society  at  large,  on  this  subject, 
that  “  Friends  ”  living  within  the  slave  States,  urged  their  breth¬ 
ren  at  the  North  not  to  unite  with  the  Anti-slavery  Societies.  It 
appears,  however,  that  “Friends”  of  North  Carolina  do  not,  at 
all  events,  object  to  uniting  or  co-operating  with  those  of  other 
denominations,  in  promoting  an  object  which  they  approve.  Their 
objection  to  abolition  societies  evidently  rests  on  quite  different 
grounds. 

I  must  here  be  permitted  to  say  a  few  words,  respecting  the 
character  and  objects  of  the  society,  thus  officially  patronized  by 
the  Friends  of  North  Carolina. 

The  greatest  objection  to  this  society,  is  its  representing  slave¬ 
ry,  and  the  prejudice  against  color,  as  necessary  and  incurable 
evils,  for  which  its  own  mockery  of  a  remedy  is  the  only  pallia¬ 
tive  ;  and  thus  administering  an  opiate  to  the  consciences,  not 
only  of  slave-holders,  but  of  others  who  are  unwilling  to  part 
with  their  sinful  prejudices,  and  to  enter  into  that  fellowship  of 
suffering  with  the  enslaved,  without  which  no  efforts  for  the  re¬ 
moval  of  slavery  will  be  effectual. 

The  following  extracts,  elucidating  this  subject,  are  from  a 
printed  letter  written  by  a  friend  of  high  station  and  extensive 
influence,  then  residing  in  North  Carolina,  but  now  of  the  State 
of  Indiana,  in  defence  of  the  Colonization  Society.  It  is  dated 
“Third  Month  4th,  1834, ”  and  I  suppress  his  name,  because 
time  and  reflection  have,  I  believe,  in  some  degree  modified  his 
views. 

Speaking  of  the  opposition  of  Friends  in  England  to  the  Colo¬ 
nization  Society,  he  says,  “  I  have  supposed  that  they  wrould 
think  it  more  consistent  with  Christian  principles  to  emancipate 
them  in  the  Southern  States,  and  let  them  remain  there,  as  they 
have  done  in  the  Northern  States.  I  apprehend  that  Friends  in 
England  are  not  fully  apprised  of  some  important  circumstances, 
which  place  the  Southern  States  in  a  very  different  situation 
from  the  Northern.  In  the  first  place,  there  never  were  so  many 
people  of  color  in  the  Northern  States,  as  there  are  in  the  South¬ 
ern  ;  and  another  circumstance  that  diminished  them  there,  and 


APPENDIX  K. 


lxxxvii 


increased  them  greatly  here,  was  while  the  Northern  States  were 
legislating  on  the  subject  of  gradual  emancipation,  avaricious 
masters  sent  them  by  thousands  to  the  Southern  markets,  before 
the  emancipating  laws  were  actually  passed,  which  left  a  small 
proportion  in  those  States,  in  comparison  to  the  whites;  not 
many  more,  perhaps,  than  they  were  willing  to  have  for  laborers, 
waiting  men,  waiting  women,  et  cet.  And  notwithstanding  they 
have  freed  their  slaves,  for  which  they  are  entitled  to  applause, 
yet  they  never  dreamed  of  raising  them  to  equal  citizenship  and 
privileges  with  the  white  people.  No,  my  friend,  they  can  no 
more  reconcile  to  themselves  the  idea  of  sitting  down  by  the  side 
of  a  colored  African,  (American  ?)  in  any  legislative  or  judiciary 
department,  than  the  high  spirited  Southern  slaveholder  ;  and  not 
only  so,  they  never  intend  to  admit  them  to  these  privileges,  while 
the  State  Government,  and  the  United  States'  Government  continue 
in  existence .  ”  Again,  after  stating  various  objections  to  emanci¬ 
pation,  he  goes  on  to  say,  “  I  need  not  dwell  much  upon  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  universal  emancipation,  in  stating  the  best,  or  the  worst, 
or  most  probable  results  of  such  a  measure,  because  the  South¬ 
ern  people  have  no  more  idea  of  the  general  emancipation  of 
slaves,  without  colonizing  them,  than  the  Northern  people  have 
of  admitting  the  few  among  them  to  equal  rights  and  privileges. 
Not  even  the  friends  of  humanity  here,  think  that  a  general 
emancipation,  to  remain  here,  would  better  their  condition,  ”  et  cet. 

The  inferences  plainly  to  be  drawn  from  all  this,  and  from 
much  besides  to  the  same  purport,  are,  that  the  wicked  determi¬ 
nation  of  the  white  people  to  retain  their  sinful  prejudices,  is, 
like  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  immutable  ;  and  must, 
therefore,  be  accommodated  by  the  transportation  of  the  un¬ 
offending  objects  of  their  intense  dislike.  On  this  point  I  will 
observe  that,  if  it  be  so,  the  remedy  is  worse  than  the  disease ; 
but  that  Christian  principle  is  powerful  enough,  as  daily  experi¬ 
ence  testifies,  to  combat  and  destroy  this  unholy  prejudice.  The 
next  inference  is,  that  because  the  slave  population  in  the  South¬ 
ern  States  is  much  more  numerous  than  it  was  in  the  Northern, 
therefore  the  same  reasons  for  emancipation  do  not  exist  Is  not 
the  true  conclusion  from  such  premises,  the  very  reverse  of  this  ? 
The  motives  to  abolition  increase,  both  in  weight  and  number,  in 
proportion  to  the  absolute  and  relative  increase  of  the  slave  pop- 


lxxxviii 


APPENDIX  K. 


ulation.  The  British  West  Indies  present  an  example  of  the 
safety  and  advantages  of  the  measure  in  a  community,  where 
the  whites  are  a  mere  handful  compared  to  the  colored  population. 

That  state  of  feeling  from  which  the  Colonization  Society 
sprung,  is  well  illustrated  by  this  writer,  in  giving,  in  natural 
language,  a  picture  of  his  own  mind.  After  again  repeating  his 
statement  of  the  vast  proportion  which  the  colored  population 
bears  to  the  white,  in  the  Slave  States,  he  says,  “Now,  my 
friend,  the  general  emancipation  of  such  a  number  of  these  poor, 
degraded  creatures,  say  more  than  two  millions,  always  to  remain 
here  with  the  white  people,  even  if  the  Government  should  take 
the  necessary  care  for  their  education  and  preparation  for  free¬ 
dom  and  civilized  life,  which  to  be  sure  it  ought,  they  must  or 
will  be  a  degraded  people,  while  the  reins  of  government  remain 
in  the  hands  of  the  whites.  Supposing  the  very  best  conse¬ 
quences  that  could  follow  such  a  measure,  even  that  both  classes 
should  generally  exercise  Christian  feelings  towards  each  other, 
which  is  very  improbable,  if  not  morally  impossible,  the  peculiar¬ 
ly  marked  difference  of  features  and  color,  will  be  always  an  in¬ 
surmountable  barrier  to  general  amalgamation.  ”  Again,  “  Were 
they  of  the  same  color  and  features  that  we  are,  in  an  elective 
republican  government  like  this,  where  talents  and  merit  are  the 
common  footsteps  to  esteem  and  preferment,  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  universal  emancipation,  without  a  separation.  I  have 
no  idea  that  they  are  at  all  inferior  to  the  white  people  in  intel- 
tect;  give  them  the  same  opportunity  for  enterprise  and  improve¬ 
ment.  ”  Their  only  sin,  it  appears,  after  all,  is  being  “  guilty  of 
a  skin  not  colored  like  our  own.”  I  may  observe,  in  passing, 
that  amalgamation,  the  bugbear  of  anti-abolitionists,  is  the  ne¬ 
cessary  result  of  slavery,  not  of  emancipation. 

The  preceding  extracts  present  a  faithful  picture  of  coloniza¬ 
tion  principles,  though  it  is  not  every  colonizationist  who  would 
avow  them  with  so  much  simplicity.  The  writer  notwithstand¬ 
ing,  manifests  some  benevolent  feeling  towards  the  slaves.  His 
conscience  cannot  be  satisfied  with  the  present  state  of  things, 
and  he,  like  too  many  others,  takes  refuge  in  the  pleasing  delusion 
that  it  would  be  practicable  to  convey  these  colored  Americans 
across  the  Atlantic  and  make  them  comfortable  in  Africa,  be¬ 
cause  their  ancestors  were  born  there.  As  reasonably  and  as 


APPENDIX  K. 


lxxxix 


justly  might  he  talk  of  transporting  the  white  Americans  to  Eng¬ 
land  because  their  ancestors  removed  from  this  country. 

It  is  very  easily  demonstrable,  that  this  could  not  possibly  be 
accomplished — that  neither  the  means  of  transport  could  be 
found,  nor  the  means  of  settlement  provided  ;  and  were  these 
impossibilities  removed,  it  might  also  be  shown,  very  easily,  that 
it  would  be  suicidal  policy  to  remove  the  entire  laboring  popula¬ 
tion  of  the  Southern  States  from  a  soil  and  climate  for  which 
they  only  are  adapted.  Yet  emancipation  by  removal  is  the 
theory  of  the  Colonization  Society,  and  in  this  point  of  view  that 
Society  must  be  characterized  as  a  grand  imposture.  What 
must  be  the  power  of  that  delusion  which  can  render  intelligent 
and  philanthropic  men  the  victims  of  such  a  fallacy  ?  If  the 
whites,  who  hold  the  reins  of  government,  could  but  be  brought 
to  exercise  Christian  feelings  towards  the  people  of  color,  which 
this  worthy  friend  thinks  is  perhaps  “morally  impossible,”  how 
rapidly  would  all  difficulties  vanish  ?  To  accomplish  this  desira¬ 
ble  end  is  the  object  of  the  abolitionists;  they  feel  it  to  be  diffi¬ 
cult,  but  they  know  it  to  be  not  impossible. 

The  writer  of  this  pamphlet  uniformly  couples  “ultra  slave¬ 
holders”  and  “  northern  manumissionists  ”  in  the  same  censure. 
They  are  the  two  objectionable  extremes ;  colonizationists  and 
moderate  slave-holders  being,  I  suppose,  the  golden  mean.  One 
illustration  more  of  the  animus  with  which  he  regards  a  black 
population. 

“And  so  it  is  with  the  New  England  immediate  manumis- 
sionists ;  they  have  so  few  people  of  color  that  they  do  not  con¬ 
sider  them  an  evil ;  and  hence  they  conclude  that  the  Southern 
States  may  do  a§  they  have  done — free  them  at  once ;  but  I  have 
no  doubt  at  all,  if  there  was  as  large  a  proportion  of  colored 
people  in  the  New  England  States  as  in  the  Southern,  there 
would  be  but  one  voice,  and  that  would  be  for  colonizing  them 
somewhere.  ” 

The  following  passage  is  historically  interesting  : 

“  The  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends  of  North  Carolina  have  sent 
several  hundreds  of  those  they  have  had  under  their  care  to 
Liberia,  for  whose  emancipation  in  this  State  they  could  never 
obtain  a  law,  though  they  petitioned  for  it  oftentimes  for  the  space 

H  2 


xc 


appendix  k. 


of  fifty  years,  always  finding1  the  chief  objection  of  the  legislature 
to  be  that  of  the  great  number  and  degraded  and  low  character 
of  the  free  persons  of  color  already  in  the  State.  We  prefer 
sending  them  to  Africa  rather  than  to  any  of  the  free  States  or  to 
Canada  —  because  we  believe  that  is  their  proper  home.  We 
sent  some  to  the  State  of  Ohio  ;  and  since  then  hundreds  of 
blacks  have  been  in  a  manner  compelled,  by  the  laws  of  that 
State,  or  the  prejudices  of  some  of  its  citizens,  to  leave  it  and  go 
to  Canada,  We  have  sent  some  to  Indiana;  but  that  State  has 
passed  laws,  we  hear,  to  prevent  any  more  coming.  We  have 
sent  some  to  Pennsylvania  ;  but,  about  two  years  ago,  we  shipped 
near  one  hundred  from  Newbern  and  Beaufort  to  Chester ;  they 
were  not  suffered  to  land,  neither  there  nor  at  Philadelphia,  nor 
yet  on  the  Jersey  shore  opposite,  but  had  to  float  on  the  Delaware 
river  until  the  Colonization  Society  took  them  into  possession  ; 
then  they  were  landed  in  Jersey,  ten  miles  below  Philadelphia, 
and  re-shipped  for  Africa.  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting  has 
contributed  thousands  of  dollars  to  the  Colonization  Society  ;  it 
has  probably  done  more  for  it  than  any  other  religious  community 
has  in  America,  not  merely  because  it  has  provided  us  an  asylum 
for  the  people  of  color  under  our  care,  but  upon  the  ground  of  our 
belief  that  it  is  a  great,  humane,  and  benevolent  institution.  I 
am  not  informed  of  a  single  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in 
this  country,  not  even  in  any  of  the  slave  States,  who  is  not  in  favor 
of  colonizing  them  in  Africa.  We  believe  generally  that  colon¬ 
izing  them  there  gradually  is  the  most  likely  way  to  put  a  peace¬ 
ful  end  to  slavery,  and  place  them  in  the  great  scale  of  equality 
with  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world.” 

I  have  devoted  a  space  to  this  letter  for  several  reasons  ;  first, 
because  the  writer  is  a  man  of  note  and  influence  in  his  own 
country,  and  has  plainly  uttered  what  many  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  even  now  feel ;  secondly,  he  has  shown  what  was  the 
prevalent  sentiment  among  Friends  not  longer  than  seven  years 
since,  though  I  hope  and  believe  a  considerable  change  has  taken 
place  in  the  interval;  and  lastly,  because,  within  a  few  months 
past,  a  well-known  American,  a  zealous  agent  of  the  Colonization 
Society,  has  privately  employed  this  very  letter  to  induce  aboli¬ 
tionists  in  England  to  look  favorably  on  that  Society. 


APPENDIX  L. 


xci 


I  would  add,  also,  that  I  ]earn,  on  the  authority  of  an  English 
“  Friend,”  who  has  lately  visited  the  various  Yearly  Meetings  in 
America,  that  in  those  parts  of  the  slave  States  in  which 
“  Friends  ”  chiefly  reside,  their  influence  is  very  perceptible  in 
mitigating  the  treatment  of  the  slaves  in  their  neighborhood. 
This,  I  willingly  believe  ;  indeed  the  example  of  a  body  who 
refuse  to  hold  slaves,  cannot  but  be  highly  beneficial. 


Appendix  L.  —  Pa^e  96. 

O 

“  Memorial  of  citizens  of  Boston ,  United  States,  to  the  Lords  of 
the  Admiralty ,  Great  Britain. 

“  To  the  Right  Honorable  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  of 
Great  Britain. 

“  The  undersigned,  the  citizens  of  Boston,  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  of  different  religious  denominations,  respectfully 
represent — 

“  That  by  existing  arrangements  for  the  sailing  of  the  Cunard 
line  of  steamers  between  Boston  and  Liverpool,  it  becomes  neces¬ 
sary  for  them  to  leave  this  port  on  the  Sabbath,  whenever  that 
happens  to  be  the  regular  day  appointed  for  sailing  ;  and  that  this 
occurs  a  number  of  times  in  the  course  of  a  year.  That  the  sailing 
of  a  steamer  on  that  day  is  a  source  of  deep  regret  to  many  good 
citizens,  who  are  compelled,  whenever  the  event  happens,  either 
to  defer  their  departure  to  a  future  day,  or  to  yield  to  an  arrange¬ 
ment  which  violates  their  Christian  feelings.  And  what  is  still 
more  to  be  lamented,  as  a  consequence  growing  out  of  the  present 
regulation,  is  that  aside  from  the  tumult  necessarily  attendant  on 
the  sailing  of  these  vessels  on  the  Lord’s  day,  it  furnishes  an 
occasion  for  the  needless  profanation  of  the  day  by  thousands 
who  assemble  as  spectators  on  our  wharves  to  witness  their 
departure. 

“  The  undersigned  regard  a  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath 
as  vital  to  the  general  peace,  good  order,  and  welfare  of  society  ; 
and  they  are  deeply  impressed  with  the  belief  that  nothing  of  a 
secular  or  worldly  nature  should  be  done  on  that  day  by  individ- 


XC11 


APPENDIX  L. 


uals,  by  governments,  or  by  any  of  their  departments,  which  is 
not  in  the  strictest  sense  a  work  of  necessity  or  mercy ;  and  they 
most  respectfully  represent,  that  they  are  unable  to  perceive  any 
reasons  which  render  the  sailing  of  steamers  from  this  port  on  the 
Lord’s  day  such  a  work.  And  believing  as  they  do,  that  it  will 
be  the  pleasure  of  your  lordships  at  all  times  to  cherish  and  pro¬ 
mote,  so  far  as  you  may  be  able,  a  due  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
they  respectfully  and  earnestly  request  your  lordships  so  to  vary 
the  present  arrangements  as  to  the  times  for  the  sailing  of  these 
steamers,  that  their  departure  from  this  port  shall  be  changed  to 
another  day,  whenever  the  appointed  day  for  sailing  shall  fall 
upon  the  Christian  Sabbath.  And  they  venture  to  express  their 
confident  belief  that  not  only  the  public  welfare,  but  also  the 
private  advantage  of  individuals  concerned  in  the  enterprize, 
would  be  ultimately  promoted  by  the  arrangements  here  prayed 
for. 

“The  undersigned  cannot  conclude  their  memorial  without 
adverting  to  the  high  and  responsible  station  that  has  been 
assigned  by  Providence  to  the  English  and  American  people,  in 
the  great  work  which  they  and  we  rejoice  to  know  is  now  so 
rapidly  progressing,  of  improving  the  moral  and  religious  charac¬ 
ter  and  condition  of  the  world ;  nor  can  they  be  unmindful  of  the 
fact,  that  to  the  same  extent  as  their  standing  before  the  world  in 
this  respect  is  permanent,  so  will  be  the  influence  of  their  exam¬ 
ple  on  the  nations  around  them,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad. 

“  That  the  subject  here  presented  may  receive  your  Lordship’s 
favorable  and  Christian  consideration  is  the  sincere  and  earnest 
desire  of  your  Lordships’  most  respectful  memorialists.” 

The  signatures  to  this  document  included  the  late  mayor  and 
one  of  the  former  ones,  who  was  also  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  one  bishop,  upwards  of  forty  clergymen 
of  different  denominations,  nine  gentlemen,  upwards  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  merchants,  seventeen  presidents  of  insurance 
companies,  the  postmaster  of  Boston,  five  physicians,  seven  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  legal  profession,  two  editors  of  newspapers ;  and  it 
was  accompanied  by  the  following  memorandum  from  one  of  the 
gentlemen  who  had  taken  it  round  for  signature. 

“  The  undersigned  having  been  personally  engaged  in  obtain¬ 
ing  the  signatures  to  the  memorial,  asking  a  change  in  the  sailing 


APPENDIX  L. 


XC111 


of  the  Cunard  steamers,  when  the  regular  sailing  day  occurs  on 
the  Sabbath,  hereby  certifies  that  the  memorialists  are  among  the 
most  respectable  and  influential  of  their  respective  professions, 
that  the  memorial  was  received  with  almost  universal  favor,  and 
that,  had  time  been  allowed,  and  had  it  been  deemed  necessary 
to  do  it,  thousands  of  names  might  have  been  obtained. 

“Amos  A.  Phelps.” 

“Boston,  July  31,  1841.” 

On  my  arrival  in  this  country,  I  found  that  Lord  Melbourne’s 
administration  was  about  to  resign  ;  I  therefore  deferred  forward¬ 
ing  the  memorial  until  the  present  ministers  had  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  their  respective  offices  ;  when  I  called  at  the  Admiralty, 
and  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary,  having  little  doubt 
the  application  would  have  been  at  once  granted  ;  but  a  few  days 
after  it  was  presented  I  received  the  following  reply:  — 

“  Admiralty,  September  21,  1841. 

“  Sir,  —  Having  laid  before  my  Lords  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty  the  communications  of  the  citizens  of  Boston,  United 
States,  representing  their  wish  that  the  departure  of  Mr.  Cunard’s 
steamers  on  a  Sunday,  from  their  port,  should,  for  the  future  be 
discontinued ;  I  am  commanded  by  their  lordships  to  acquaint 
you,  that  after  having  given  that  attention  to  the  subject,  which 
their  respect  for  the  citizens  of  Boston,  and  for  the  religious 
opinions  expressed  by  them,  could  not  fail  to  dictate,  my  lords 
have,  upon  mature  consideration,  come  to  the  conclusion,  that, 
with  a  due  regard  to  the  exigencies  of  the  public  service,  the 
proposed  alteration  cannot  be  carried  into  effect.  My  lords, 
therefore,  beg  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  convey  their 
decision  to  the  citizens  of  Boston,  together  with  the  assurance  of 
their  respect  for  the  opinions  they  have  expressed,  and  their  con¬ 
sequent  regret  at  being  unable  to  comply  with  their  request. 

“  I  am,  Sir, 

“  Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 
“John  Barrow. 


“  Joseph  Sturge,  Esq.,  Birmingham.” 


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